New GRLC expected to get strong partnership between state and non-state institutions for good governance

CHEMS

Phnom Penh: With support from the World Bank, the Project Coordination Office (PCO) of the Ministry of Interior on Tuesday officially launched its first-ever learning center known as “Governance Resource and Learning Center” or GRLC located in the Ministry of Interior to place as a unique research and training center for public officials and civil society organizations at both national and sub-national levels.

Speaking in opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H.E. Sar Kheng said that in term of the Royal Government’s Rectangular Policy, the center importantly contributes to government’s efforts to strengthen partnership between state and non-state institutions through additional activities of Decentralization and Deconcentration reform, especially strengthening capacity of the sub-national level.

He said GRLC will become a neutral place where partnership between state and non-sate bodies is strengthened in order to improve governance, public service delivery, and local development leading to better living condition of the citizens nationwide.

Some disagreement in the past between the civil society and state institution led to lose resources for development and affected the citizen participation in the democratic process but good partnership mechanism can improve their communication for the government’s decentralization and deconcentration reform policy.

After listening to H.E Ngy Chanphal — Secretary of State of Minister of Interior and the DFGG Coordinator — on the results of DFGG project implementation and background of the GLRC construction, World Bank Country Manager Mr. Alassane Sow hails the center inauguration saying that “The World Bank has played a role in supporting the efforts of the government and civil society toward better governance in Cambodia”.

He said the Bank “very much welcome the establishment of the Governance Resource and Learning Center which is an important achievement of the Demand for Good Governance (DFGG) project”. The center is expected to be a major contributor to the implementation of the governance reform agenda and “it will provide capacity building for non-sate actors and other stakeholders in designing and implementing DFGG activities”, he added.

Some 100 national and international guests from both sate and non-state institutions, including media people, participated in the ceremony.

According to the PCO’s press release, GRLC will play the key role as the research and training center for public officials and civil society organizations at national and sub-national levels whose work falls within the themes of Good Governance and Democratic Development, Decentralization and Deconcentration, Social Accountability, Public Administration and Services, Public Information and Legal Framework.

It says the main objectives of the center are:

–      Increasing mutual understanding and creating harmony between state and non-state institutions;

–      Increasing capacity of state and non-state institutions;

–      Increasing cooperation between state and non-state actors through building better partnerships;

–      Increasing sharing of knowledge, skills, lessons learnt, experiences, and best practices with each other;

–      Changing concepts and attitudes for social value;

–      Collecting intellectual resources and documenting them.