Government urges land concession firms to respect law
Environment Minister Say Sam Al met with private firms with land concessions last week to gauge their compliance with government rules and regulations, and adherence to their own contracts. … Amid mounting local and international pressure, Prime Minister Hun Sen in mid-2012 ordered a freeze on granting new economic land concessions and a legal review of the ones already approved, known as Directive 001. According to a statement posted to the CPP’s website, Mr. Sam Al met with firms holding concessions on Environment Ministry land last Monday in Phnom Penh. “We checked on each company because we want to know whether they implement the government’s Directive 001 to strengthen the effectiveness of their economic land concessions,” the statement says. “We appealed to all companies to implement their projects by respecting their contracts and the law.” … Most of the economic land concessions granted by the government—covering more than 10 percent of the country’s land area, according to NGOs—fall under the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture. In a report released earlier this month, rights group Licadho said that, nearly two years since Mr. Hun Sen issued Directive 001, there was no sign that an effective review of existing concessions was taking place.
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-urges-land-concession-firms-to-respect-law-57474/
