eNews | 16 May 2011 | Visit our website at www.ansa-eap.net
New procurement law set to be passed in Cambodia
Phnom Phen Post reports that a new Cambodian procurement law is scheduled to be submitted to the Council of Ministers next week despite reservations from citizen groups on whether the law will be able to “ensure transparency in the public bidding process”.
San Chey, ANSA EAP Network Fellow for Cambodia, calls for independent citizen groups to have access to and monitor the bidding process.
“If there is a lack of participation by watchdogs within the bidding process, it will create opportunities for corruption … that will affect public services and create losses from the national budget,” he said.
ANSA Arab World to be established
The World Bank announced that ANSA Arab World will be officially launched in June as part of the Bank’s Arab World Initiative. ANSA Arab World aims to enhance the World Bank’s role in building the awareness of civil society, government, and other stakeholders in Egypt, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Jordan on social accountability values and approaches.
Social Accountability and the World Bank
World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati was interviewed by the Jakarta Post where she notes the improtance of social accountability in development:
“The bank’s core duty remains in development, in job creation, social safety nets and macroeconomic growth supporting programs. But the latest World Development Report looked at fragile states or states in conflict, and found that institutions, citizen participation and social accountability are all important. They fall into what you call governance.
In the past, this was seen as political, but now we see this as an element of development. We stand ready in supporting programs related to institutional and capacity building for our members. In the Middle East, we are now introducing four high priority areas: creating jobs, providing targeted social safety nets, promoting inclusive growth, and building transparency governance and social accountability.”
ANSA-EAP Updates
Mentoring Workshop for SAC in Mongolia. ANSA-EAP held a Mentoring Workshop for SAc in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on 12-14 April 2011. The workshop aimed to clarify the roles and responsibilities of local and international mentors; explain the Project Development and Management Cycle; and implement a mentoring plan.
Practitioners Profile. This month, we feature the stories of Ms. Ester Alkonga, Executive Director of Responsible Citizens, Empowered Communities and Solidarity towards Social Change (RECITE, Inc.) and member of the Northern Luzon Coalition for Good Governance (NLCGG); and Mr. Teten Masduki, ANSA-EAP Executive Committee Member and Transparency International-Indonesia Secretary-General.
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