Government Announces Anti-Graft Price Lists

Eight months after the anti-graft provisions of the Anti-Corruption Law came into effect, the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) announced yesterday that it would start a widespread campaign to introduce standardized fees for government services in every commune office—though it will likely be months before any visible steps are taken. More than 2,000 services provided by local authorities have been collated by 22 government institutions, and the ACU and Ministry ofFinance will now begin to parse the list and set fees for each, ACU deputy chairman Chhay Savuth said yesterday. “We have a good anticorruption law and now we’re working on how to eliminate bribes at the commune level [by focusing on] under-the-table payments to negotiate services,” said Mr. Savuth, speaking at news conference held at the ACU headquarters in Phnom Penh. …