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Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 10:49 pm
by Rutiger
PM Pledges 1 Million Hectares of ELC Land to Poor

BY KUCH NAREN | FEBRUARY 26, 2016

Prime Minister HE on Thursday declared an end to the government’s review of Cambodia’s economic land concessions (ELCs), pledging that nearly 1 million hec­tares of reappropriated property would be handed over to poor families. He also announced a major reorganization of the two ministries involved in granting ELCs.

Environmental and human rights groups have identified ELCs as a cause of some of Cambodia’s most pressing problems in recent years, from rampant deforestation to forced evictions across the country.

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By the time Mr. HE bowed to the mounting criticism by placing a freeze on the issuance of new ELCs in 2012, the agriculture and environment ministries had handed out more than 2 million hectares of land to private com­panies, much of it covering prime forest or what was left of the country’s arable land.

Along with the 2012 moratorium, the prime minister ordered a full review of existing ELCs in an effort to discover which companies were in violation of their contracts with the government. But it wasn’t until early last year that a committee was formed to do the job.

At the inauguration of the Environment Ministry’s new headquarters in Phnom Penh on Thursday, Mr. HE said the committee had finally finished its work.

“The task is completely finished,” he said. “Now, only 1,090,000 hec­tares of land are allowed to remain for investment and almost a million hectares of land was taken back.”

Mr. HE said the reappropriated land would be doled out to families with little or no land of their own. “So there will be no issue of a lack of social land concessions to give to landless families,” he said.

Speaking at the same event, Environment Minister Say Sam Al said 23 of the 113 ELCs issued by his ministry had been revoked as a result of the committee’s work, and that another four firms had voluntarily handed their concessions back to the state.

Mr. Sam Al did not say how much land those concessions covered.

The Environment Ministry announced the cancellation of 23 ELCs and the voluntary return of three others in January last year. It also said it had cut the size of two other ELCs. It said the total land reappropriated added up to 127,000 hectares. The Agriculture Ministry announced the reappropriation of 50,000 hectares from eight of its own ELCs later that month.

That is nowhere near the almost 1 million hectares Mr. HE claimed on Thursday that the state had reappropriated. The premier did not explain how the figure had been reached, and spokesmen for the two ministries could not be reached for comment.

Also during the inauguration, Mr. HE announced a reorganization of both ministries.

Under the guidance of Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon, he said, the Agriculture Ministry would continue to oversee the ELCs it had issued, but also take responsibility for concessions inside protected areas that the Environment Ministry had previously overseen. At the same time, he added, the Environment Ministry would take control of certain protected areas that had been run by the Agriculture Ministry.

Mr. HE said the new Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources would focus on conservation, and the Ministry of Agriculture on “investment.”
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/pm-p ... or-109007/

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:16 pm
by juansweetpotato
Right, that's illegal logging and land grabs sorted out. What's next on the list of why everyone hates me.

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 8:09 am
by Duncan
juansweetpotato wrote:Right, that's illegal logging and land grabs sorted out. What's next on the list of why everyone hates me.


Cintri and rubbish collections.?























more

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 8:11 am
by frank lee bent
it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 11:09 am
by juansweetpotato
frank lee bent wrote:it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year
Suckerrrrr... :stir: :thumb:

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 11:20 am
by ExPenhMan
frank lee bent wrote:it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year
Might be. He dropped some PP toll road charges after locals' complaints, eliminated sub-125cc motorcycle licenses and took over Angkor Wat ticket income control from the Apsara Authority.

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 11:34 am
by juansweetpotato
ExPenhMan wrote:
frank lee bent wrote:it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year
Might be. He dropped some PP toll road charges after locals' complaints, eliminated sub-125cc motorcycle licenses and took over Angkor Wat ticket income control from the Apsara Authority.
Not bad for over 30 years in office.

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 12:18 pm
by TheGrinchSR
juansweetpotato wrote:
ExPenhMan wrote:
frank lee bent wrote:it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year
Might be. He dropped some PP toll road charges after locals' complaints, eliminated sub-125cc motorcycle licenses and took over Angkor Wat ticket income control from the Apsara Authority.
Not bad for over 30 years in office.
You're missing the key point in all this. HE is getting on now and he's rich and sorted for the rest of his life. Know what rich people care about when they know they have more than they need for them and their families? Their legacy. You're going to see quite a few populist policies emerging from the Khmer government over the next few years; it's time to secure HE's legacy not his finances.

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:15 pm
by frank lee bent
He knows what comes next if he loses the election so he is trying to sort some shit out.
He may be the PM, but he has a lot of Oknea he depends on to keep the whole thing going.
It is a fine line.

Re: Hope for the landless poor?

Posted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 4:12 pm
by juansweetpotato
TheGrinchSR wrote:
juansweetpotato wrote:
ExPenhMan wrote:
frank lee bent wrote:it seems to me he is genuinely trying to clean up some of the shit
he seems to have mellowed a lot this year
Might be. He dropped some PP toll road charges after locals' complaints, eliminated sub-125cc motorcycle licenses and took over Angkor Wat ticket income control from the Apsara Authority.
Not bad for over 30 years in office.
You're missing the key point in all this. HE is getting on now and he's rich and sorted for the rest of his life. Know what rich people care about when they know they have more than they need for them and their families? Their legacy. You're going to see quite a few populist policies emerging from the Khmer government over the next few years; it's time to secure HE's legacy not his finances.
Well, it's a nice idea. My way of thinking is that if he doesn't hold on to power until he is in his late 70's he and all his cronies will be slaughtered where they stand. Don't forget he has his kids all lined up to take over. That is a tyrants true legacy - Dynasty. He is a Chinky after all. The Sen dynasty, it has a nice ring to it don't you think .

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21971//
PM’s Son Warns that Civil War is Possible