Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - ELC holders put onus for disputes on gov’t

ELC holders put onus for disputes on gov’t

Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon talks to reporters in Phnom Penh yesterday after a meeting with ELC grantees. Photo supplied
Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon talks to reporters in Phnom Penh yesterday after a meeting with ELC grantees. Photo supplied

ELC holders put onus for disputes on gov’t

Recently appointed Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon held a first-ever meeting with economic land concession (ELC) grantees yesterday and was promptly met with a barrage of complaints.

The local and foreign businesspeople present called on the Agriculture Ministry – which was handed responsibility for ELCs in a swap with the Environment Ministry earlier this year – to do more to quell discontent among people displaced by concessions.

Lim Heng, director of the Ly Heng Group, said the communities living on his ELCs viewed the company as their enemy.

“We are experiencing conflicts with the community. Why? Because no announcements have been made to them,” Heng said. “The ministry or the state should have told them about the benefits and positive points of ELCs, so they would understand that our investment is for the national economic growth and in the local people’s interest.”

Heng suggested the ministry produce video spots to raise awareness of the benefits of ELCs and the company’s right to use and cultivate the land before handing it to the state at the end of its 50-year lease.

Heng Sarat, a representative of TTY Agriculture in Kratie province, said that government officials returning land to evicted families had considerably weakened the original investment of the company, owned by businessman Na Mardy.

He said the company was originally granted 9,870 hectares, but is now left with only 215, adding that families protesting for land had brought TTY’s operations to a standstill.

“We have many difficulties in clearing the land. They protest immediately after we deploy our vehicles to clear it. The number of families [protesting] increases until we cannot do anything. [Even] the people who have already been granted land continue to join the protests with the newcomers,” he said, adding that TTY had invested a substantial amount in local infrastructure.

Sakhon promised to address the concerns raised at the meeting. “For more than 10 years already, the ministry has observed how to solve problems effectively,” Sakhon said. “For the last few months my team and I have put a lot of effort into solving problems.”

A 2015 report on land rights by NGO Adhoc found in that many cases ELCs had “adversely impacted local residents livelihoods and/or were responsible for significant environmental degradation”.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Ream base allegations must end, urges official

    A senior government official urges an end to the allegations and suspicions surrounding the development of Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, now that Prime Minister Hun Manet has addressed the issue on the floor of the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78). Jean-Francois Tain, a geopolitical

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • CP denied registration documents by ministry

    The Ministry of Interior will not reissue registration documents to the Candlelight Party (CP). Following a September 21 meeting between ministry secretary of state Bun Honn and CP representatives, the ministry cited the fact that there is no relevant law which would authorise it to do

  • Cambodian diaspora laud Manet’s UN Assembly visit

    Members of the Cambodian diaspora are rallying in support of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s forthcoming visit to the 78th UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) in the US’ New York City this week. Their move is an apparent response to a recent call by self-exiled former

  • After three deferrals, Capital Gains Tax to take effect Jan 1, 2024

    The General Department of Taxation (GDT) will implement the Capital Gains Tax starting January 1, 2024 to after being deferred three times as industrial players warn that the implementation might have some negative impact on the property market growth, which is down due to the economic downturn.