Between Covid-19 and a hard place
It’s simply a case of ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t!’. The state has put in place soft lockdown measures, possibly to avoid sending the economy into a shockwave but the effects of the virus are already shaking the core of its population, starting
ARE Cambodia’s antiCovid-19 measures presenting themselves as a doubleedged sword? While they are calculated and weighed against the budget, the Kingdom is faced with increasing costs to protect the health of its people.
This is clear from its shocking decision to cancel the annual Khmer New Year holidays (April 14 to 16) and impose travel restrictions to limit the spread of the Covid19 infections.
But deferring implementation of a state of emergency infers more than that related to the pandemic.
For starters, the staggered orders to close educational institutions, casinos, karaoke centres, cinemas, gyms, nightclubs, bars and other venues are inconsistent with Prime Minister Hun Sen’s latest call to private and public sectors to carry on businessas-usual next week.
He said it would be “safer” for employees to remain at work than travel around during the holidays as the latter puts the country at risk of higher infection.
“So please understand the difficulties the country is facing now. It is not just the government that is facing hardship. It is the people who will suffer the most,” the premier pointed out in the live telecast of his address on Tuesday.
The government’s decision is based on stemming the infection rate, particularly via mass prayers and large social gatherings, which are admittedly difficult to control.
However, imposing a state of emergency is not urgent as yet due to the low probability (0.1 per cent) of infections, meaning the situation is still under control.
Comparatively speaking, Cambodia’s handling of the situation is slow-paced compared to other Asian countries, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, which were quick to impose lockdowns after learning bitter lessons in the equally debilitating Sars outbreak in 2003.
And herein lies its quandary. The Kingdom is between a rock and a hard place.
On one hand it is determined to keep the population safe from the Covid-19 pandemic, but on the other, the Kingdom is reeling from the escalating human cost in light of job losses in the garment and tourism industries.
Some 100,000 workers in these industries have been made redundant upon the suspension of factories due to a lack of raw materials and the fall in tourist arrivals following travelling restrictions around the world.
Instituting a strict lockdown or a state of emergency in Cambodia would require a colossal stimulus package with cash and even food allocations to households and individuals.
Adjustments will also have to be made across macroeconomic policies to help the people and industries cope with the downturn.
This would be a tall order for Cambodia, which is already dipping into its conservative state coffers where some $8.2 billion had been set aside for overall expenditure in 2020.
The Covid-19 budget is mostly banded together from tax revenues, savings from ministries, corporate and individual donations, and borrowings, including a $20 million credit line from the World Bank.
To date, some $918 million out of its top-end Covid-19 budget of $2 billion has been expended to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and purchase of urgent medical supplies and equipment.
However, the breakdown of the funds’ actual usage has not been revealed.
One expenditure is the government’s commitment to pay $40 each to garment workers who are temporarily laid-off due the closure of some 100 factories, and tourism-related employees, such as tour guides and hotel workers.
This is a revision from the government’s initial 20 per cent obligation towards garment workers’ wages where they were to accept a 40 per cent pay cut as factory owners could not afford to pay the full $190 monthly minimum wage.
The workers settled for $114, of which 20 per cent was to be shouldered by the government and 40 per cent by the employer.
But a plea by the factory owners who were forced to fork out wages despite their operational shutdown resulted in the government’s decision to pay a flat wage of $70.
This was criticised by labour unions as lacking empathy, particularly in the current economic landscape.
Starting Friday, the government will start dispensing the larger portion ($40) of wages to the workers, as well as tourism-related employees, the Ministry of Economy and Finance told The Post.
However, the total number of recipients has not been