Key Messages
Cambodia has made a commitment to continuously improve public service delivery by bringing government closer to people through Decentralization and Deconcentration (D&D) reforms.
Under D&D reforms, responsibilities for providing government services are being shifted to Sub-National Administrations, including the commune/Sangkat, district, municipal, or Khan, and capital and provincial levels of government. Strengthening the ability of the Sub-National Administrations to deliver public services is key to the success of this reform agenda.
A recent report on “Cambodia Intergovernmental Fiscal Architecture” recommends the followings:
- Better coordination of D&D reforms with National Program for Public Administration Reform and the Public Financial Management Reform Program to transform Sub-National Administrations into efficient public service providers.
- Providing clarity to key concepts/terms used including “unified administration” at district, municipal or Khan level and the difference between “permissive” and “obligatory” functions.
- Further deconcentration of budgets of important service delivery ministries to Sub-National Administration level to support improvements in public service delivery. While the delivery of major social services such as education and health are among the most deconcentrated, other important services remain fiscally centralized.
- Increasing the sub-national share of public expenditure. The allocation of the district, municipal or Khan budget increased in absolute terms since 2017 but accounts for only around 10 percent of total Sub-National Administration budgets, despite being seen as becoming the primary subnational level for service delivery.
- Adjustments in the structure of the intergovernmental transfer systems as more functions are assigned and more funds are made available to Sub-National Administrations.
- Further strengthening subnational Public Financial Management systems and practices as D&D reform moves forward.
The study also recommends providing more local discretion on decision-making, better defining roles for service delivery at the district, municipal or Khan level, and clarifying budget procedures for transferring funds from line ministries to district, municipal or Khan administrators.