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Capacity Building

The most visible effect of war on a country is the destruction of physical infrastructure. However, war inevitably also causes countries to suffer the erosion of social fabric and the dysfunction of governance structures. This is particularly the case in circumstances of protracted conflict. Invariably, the traditions and institutions that determine how authority is exercised are severely damaged. As a result, the processes by which governments are elected by fair and open process, their capacity to manage resources efficiently, and formulate, implement and enforce sound policies and regulations is often weak. Despite the establishment of the institutions of governance, the respect of citizens and the state of the institutions tat govern economic and social interactions among them can remain compromised and they man also remain unjust in practice, acting against the interests of poor people.

The decentralization of power to the provinces has been pressed hard for by international donors. But implementation has been hampered by a chronic skill shortage. While a robust and transparent system of governance is essential, the importance of officials in the governance chain is particularly important in the case of Cambodia where a tradition of civil service is lacking. This is explained by Decharin (19)88 and Demp (1997): “the quality of government officials can affect rural development efforts. Opportunities, insincere technocrats and self centered officials can be found in many agencies, sometimes in important positions. These people can impede the development effort and it is never easy to get rid of them”.

The project is designed to improve the capacity of poor rural people, local CBOs and NGOs, local authorities and other actors to engage with the royal government o Cambodia’s decentralization and deconcentration policy to enhance good governance, democracy and decentralisation. This will be achieved through three means: a series of capacity building courses and skills development activities including decentralization courses, programming skills an activities skills training courses; an advocacy and awareness raising programme at grassroots, local and district levels, and advocacy work with the commune council federation at the national level. These activities have been selected by and will be undertaken in partnership with, 7 local Cambodia NGOs and CBOs so as to strengthen local participation in the decentralization policy and crate long-term sustainability for the communities as a whole.