Cambodia’s political elite has captured the country’s oil and mineral wealth, putting its economic future at risk while international donors turn a blind eye, an environmental watchdog said. Impoverished Cambodia has enough natural wealth to wean itself off foreign aid but international donors must do more to ensure the assets are properly managed.
In the report entitled: “Country for Sale,” the group said earnings from oil, gas and minerals were being “jeopardized by high-level corruption, nepotism and patronage” in allocating and managing the assets. “The same political elite that pillaged the country’s timber resources has now gained control of its mineral and petroleum wealth,” said Global Witness Campaigns Director, Gavin Hayman.