ACU urges councillors to declare assets
THE A nt i-Corr upt ion Unit (ACU) has reminded newly-elected municipal, prov i ncia l, tow n a nd dist r ict council lors t hat t hey a re obl iged to decla re t hei r assets and debts within a maximum of 30 days after ta king office or they will be forced to resign from of f ice.
But councillors who declared their assets and debts last year and have been re-elected are not required to do so again, according to the ACU’s notice.
It said new councillors can either make their declaration to the ACU directly, send the details to a provincial ACU representative, or provide the information to the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Administration.
Pa Socheat vong, who has just ta ken office as chairman of the Phnom Penh Municipa l Council, sa id t he not ice is i n l i ne wit h t he law a nd gover nment of f i c i a l s s hou ld c ompl y w it h i t s requirements.
He said that obviously, he had declared his assets and debts in accordance with the law. “I think we government officials should happily comply with the requirements of this law because it benefits our nation.
“It’s usef u l t hat we a re requ i red to declare our assets. We are leaders, so we must do the right thing,” Socheatvong said.
Transparency Internationa l Cambodia executive director Preap Kol said the ACU directive is in line wit h t he AntiCorruption Law.
But he said that what civil society organisations and the public desire is for it to be carried out in a transparent manner with the documents shared publicly.
Therefore, Kol said, the current laws should be amended in order to provide a publicly available record whenever it is needed.
“The current law has its merits but it falls short of what we would like to see. It is helpful, but in our country how many people have filed complaints with the ACU?
“I’d say not many, except in special politically-motivated cases, and there should be more,” Kol said.
The Cambodian People’s Part y (CPP) won 4,034 of 4,114 seats i n t his yea r’s t hird mandate municipa l, prov incia l, tow n a nd d i st r ic t cou nci l elec t ions, while t he ot her si x parties received limited support.
T he Nat iona l E lec t ion Committee (NEC) released t he formal results of t he elections on June 8, showing t hat of t he seven political parties only three parties won seats.
The CPP received 550 of the 559 Phnom Penh and provincial council seats and 3,484 of the 3,555 seats in municipal, town and district councils. The Khmer National Unity Party won 38 seats, while the Funcinpec Party received 33.
NEC spokesperson Hang Puthea told The Post on June 9 that none of the parties had lodged any complaints following t he for mal a nnouncement of t he results.