ADB Smothers Report On Families Hit by Rail Project
The Asian Development Bank has refused to release a critical study on the impacts its $141.6 million railway project is having on thousands of Cambodian families because disclosure of the report could hurt its relationship with the government, an ADB spokeswoman said. Raising concerns about the ADB’s decision to bury the report‘s findings, housing rights groups released a statement yesterday criticizing the banks lack of transparency and public accountability. … After having its initial request for access to the report denied, Inclusive Development International (IDI) appealed to the ADB’s Public Disclosure Advisory Committee on February 16. The ADB committee informed IDI that its appeal has also been rejected on Friday. “ADB has long recognized that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness and ADB’s ability to achieve its vision of an Asia and Pacific free of poverty,” ADB spokeswoman Ann Quon said in the letter. But releasing Dr. Cernea’s findings on the rail project, Ms. Quon said, would further delay a project that is already behind schedule and over budget, damage the ADB’s long term relationship with the government, and “compromise the integrity of the of ADB’s deliberative decision-making process.” … Both the ADB and the Australian government’s foreign aid arm co-funding the project, AusAid, have sold the railway’s rebirth as a key of bringing down the cost of transport and doing business across the country. They have also placed the responsibility for the roughly 1,200 families the project will ultimately see evicted on the government, while pledging extra money to help the families supplement their diminished incomes after eviction. …
