The Mirror, Vol. 13, No. 606
I am out of hospital care, but still not yet quite OK. Trying to catch up with the delays.
Norbert Klein
“Phnom Penh: At the Sunway Hotel, there was a workshop about Land Allocation Social and Economic Development (LASED) projects on 2 April 2009, under the presidency of the Minister of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction, who is also chairperson of the Land Policy Council, and chairperson of the National Land Allocation Concession Committee, Senior Minister Im Chhun Lim.
“This workshop was organized while LASED projects are being carried out as an experiment in Kratie, Kompong Cham, and Kompong Thom. The major aim of LASED projects is to combine the implementation of social concession land use countrywide, following Sub-Decree #19 from 2003, to encourage equal land allocation and economic growth by making use of unused land and labor force more effectively, and to contribute to strengthen basic relations of society.
“Previously, land allocations were carried out based on the previous land law, and the new land law in 2001; looking at it since 1979, the policy to allocate state land as private ownership land to people has been implemented in three big land allocation phases:
- The allocation in 1989: The state provided special possessions to general people, recognizing land that they actually controlled at that time.
- The allocation in 1992: The state provided land to people who were repatriated as pat of the arrangements of the Paris Peace Accords.
- The allocation in 1998: The state recognized land ownerships of people as part of the integration of people living in the last areas which had been controlled by the Khmer Rouge forces.
Besides the big land allocation phases mentioned above, the Royal Government has continually distributed land to people in relation to the establishment of new villages, new settlements, mine clearing project implementation, and illegal land regularization for poor people where more than 17,000 families in total own more than 2,000 hectares of land which is mostly housing land.
“Recently, the Land Concession Committees at national and at province and city levels are cooperating with the National Authority for Solving Land Disputes to allocate land to people who need real land ownerships for land controlled illegally, and land that has previously been expropriated.
“The Royal Government will offer priority for land ownership for housing construction, for farming and small-scale utilization for poor families, and for most vulnerable people. To ensure efficiency in land use, the Royal Government encourages the creation of plans to allocate land for farming development, tourism industry, urban and rural areas, housing areas, reserved areas, and conservation areas, in order to avoid land use which does not meet the best potentiality.
“To gain experience in implementing ways to provide social land concessions very effectively, a testing plan for social land allocation and economic development has been developed to be taken as a good model for countrywide implementation. This testing plan supports social land concessions initiated by commune councilors at the local levels with technical support from district and provincial working teams. LASED programs being implemented at present are conducted in Cham Kravieng commune, Memut district, Kompong Cham, in Sambok and Changkrang communes, Kratie district, Kratie, and in Kompong Thom.
“For five years from 2008 to 2013, the project has around US$15 million available in total, out of which US$11.5 million is from the World Bank for operations and public investments, Euro 1.2 million [US$1.6 million] technical aid from Germany, and US$300,000 shared by the Royal Government of Cambodia. All funds are for social land concession implementation in 20 communes in the three provinces mentioned above. LASED projects started to be implemented on 11 September 2008.
“As a result, LASED projects have allocated social concession land to 775 poor families (525 families in Kratie, and 250 families in Kompong Cham), and continue to be implemented in a second component for the provision of some necessary rural development services and for the provision of food-for-work for the fist year to families that have acquired land in order to help support their livelihood.
“Besides implementing the above projects which are fully in line with Sub-Decree #19 on social concession land, the Royal Government has also provided social concession land to poor families that own no land or lack sufficient land. Consequently, 286 hectares of cleared landmine land were distributed to 9,416 families in total, where 79.17 hectares are farming land for 135 families, 15.57 hectares are housing land for 55 families, land for rural road construction for 7,731 families, 16.54 hectares are for rural road safety for 981 families, and 19.18 hectares are land for building schools for 350 families. In Kompong Speu, there are 224.5 hectares of disputed land in total, which has been solved where 18 hectares is housing land in Roleang Kreul commune, Samraong Tong district, that has been provided to 88 families, and 206.5 hectares of production land for 826 families (among them, 479 families had received land).
“LASED programs have faced some challenges from illegal land control after land had been registered as land of the state for social land concessions. Working teams will make broader publicity about it and the commune, district, and provincial authorities have to prevent such illegal land control. Besides, there will be more publicity so that poor families who own no land know and come to apply for concession land according to legal procedures.
“This workshop is a good opportunity for all members of working teams that implement LASED projects at national and sub- national levels, for World Bank, German GTZ, and for other non-government organizations to better understand social land concessions, and to discuss to find better solutions for experiments and follow-up goals of LASED programs with better results.” Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6620, 4-5.4.2009
Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Deum Ampil, Vol.3, #157, 4.4.2009
- The Court Orders Samdech Krom Preah Norodom Ranariddh to Return Residence Number 32 to the State
Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.8, #1915, 4.4.2009
- In a Land Dispute in Chi Kraeng District [in Siem Reap], [around 100] Residents Walk to Phnom Penh to Request a Solution [after walking 13 days, they arrive in Phnom Penh]
- G20 Leaders Agree to Deal with the Global Economic Crisis with US$1.1 Trillion
- North Korea Says It Will Attack Japanese Big Bases if Its Rocket Is Shot Down
Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.3, #379, 4.4.2009
- Ieng Sary Continues to Be Detained [after the request to be bailed out due to his illness, and due to corruption at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, failed]
Koh Santepheap, Vol.42, #6620, 4-5.4.2009
- Experiences and Goals to Implement Land Allocation Social and Economic Development Projects
- The Authorities Evacuate Citizens from Preah Vihear for a While for Security [after clashes between Cambodian and Thai troops]
Meatophoum, Vol.17, #728, 3-4.4.2009
- Contraband Enters through the Robeang Border Crossing Point without Control in Poipet
Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.16, #3729, 4-5.4.2009
- Civil Society Encourage the Government to Solve Big Land Disputes Affecting the Right of Living of Citizens
- [Opposition party leader] Sam Rainsy: Under the Pretext of Development, the Hun Sen Government Sells Land to Foreign Companies
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.17, #4863, 4.4.2009
- Two Clashes: Siamese [Thai] and Cambodian Troops Fought Large Scale Battles – and Three Siamese Soldiers Died and Many Were Injured [government officials of Cambodia said that Thai troops entered Khmer territory in the contested Veal Intry region where the clash broke out]
- The World Bank Assesses the Investment Atmosphere, and the Government Prepares US$7.3 Million to Help Jobless People
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