Phnom Penh Governor Leaves Behind Mixed Legacy

During his speech last week at the swearing-in ceremony of Phnom Penh’s new governor, Pa Socheatvong, Interior Minister Sar Kheng noted that managing Cambodia’s capital is by no means an easy task. … While critics of [former Phnom Penh governor] Mr. [Kep] Chuktema note his failure to settle high-profile land disputes and struggle to deal with the city’s expanding population, it is impossible not to notice some of Mr. Chuktema’s accomplishments. … “[O]verall, in the last decade [Mr. Chuktema’s] tenure has overseen modest but uncoordinated infrastructure improvements set against increased isolation and forcible displacement of the urban poor,” [NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut] Ms. [Nora] Lindstorm said, noting that since 2003, about 100,000 Phnom Penh residents have been displaced to relocation sites in and around Phnom Penh where access to employment, education healthcare and clean water is often limited. “In sum, we have seen unregulated urbanization that has benefited a small strata of society and has increased spatial inequality. Phnom Penh today is more gridlocked, less green and less equitable than ten years ago,” she added. In 2007, City Hall announced that it had leased 133 hectares of land surrounding and including Boeng Kak for almost $80 million to Shukaku Inc., a company owned by CPP senator Lao Meng Khin. The forced evictions that followed have given rise to the most high-profile land dispute in the country, as landless protesters from the Boeng Kak community have taken to the streets on an almost daily basis to demonstrate against what they say is a collusion between City Hall and Shukaku in illegally usurping their land without proper compensation. … Still, Mr. Chutema’s focus on major construction projects and the beautification of Phnom Penh has attracted much needed investment, according to Nuon Rithy, the managing director of Bonna Realty, one of the city’s largest real estate firms. … Others, however say the municipality over the past ten years has failed to tackle the rate at which the population is growing. According to Khem Ley, a socioeconomic researcher at the Advanced Research Consultant Team, an independent consultancy, Phnom Penh’s population is growing at a rate of almost 7.5 percent a year. … In March, Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed concern for the failing state of Phnom Penh’s infrastructure during a meeting with the visiting mayor of Paris. He said the city’s expansion had led to electricity shortages, traffic jams, trash problems and an inadequate water supply system. …

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