5. Cambodia’s Poverty Problem

The Cambodian government is working on developing rural areas, in order to stem the tide of rural people abandoning the countryside and flocking into the capital Phnom Penh. “ When their own communities are developed, the poor and dispossessed will not have to seek a living in Phnom Penh,” said Deputy Phnom Penh Governor Mom Sarin. But the problem is not confined to the rural districts, as statistics show that nearly 40% of the country’s 13 million people live on less than US$1 a day, no matter wherer they live.

A typical destitute family of four which moved to the capital from the countryside makes a bare living scavenging in rubbish dumps. They must work 13 hours a day, every day, gathering scraps of discarded paper, plastic bottles and tin cans, just to make ends meet. What they find is bought by middlemen in Phnom Penh, who re-sell the usable material to recycling plants in Vietnam. At current prices, the family must find 23kg of waste paper or 7.5 kg of plastic bottles to survive.

Government officials say that they are trying to inject funds into rural development, agriculture, health and education “ I hope that Cambodia will be able to fight poverty when these sectors are improved,” said Khek Ravy, joint secretary of state for commerce. “The government is on the right track, but that is not enough. We need more help from donor countries.” Such countries granted US$55 million in aid to the Cambodian government, and another US$55 mfflion to non-governmental organizations last year, compared with a total of US$548 million in 2000. Critics say that much of the money is squandered through mismanagement and corruption, but the government insists that the funds are being spent wisely. “Grant aid does not go into the pockets of powerful individuals; it is used to built up a sound infrastructure, which is necessary for economic growth, “ said Ministry of Commerce official Sok Siphanna.

But Cambodia faces a massive task. The Ministry of Commerce says that, in order to make inroads into the poverty problem, the country must achieve an economic growth rate of as much as 8% a year. However, the official growth forecast for this year is a much more moderate 4.5%. The grim truth is that there has been no growth at all in the Cambodian economy since 1998, due to the lingering effect of the Asian financial crisis. Prospects for higher growth are bleak. Foreign direct investment fell by 14% last year, and is expected to keep falling. Annual foreign investment now is half the level it was only five years ago. Compounding the problem is the fact that Cambodia has few advantages to offer investors. Even its labor force is no cheaper than that of China. In fact, China has many more advantages for investors, as it offers equally low costs, better infrastructure and a vast domestic market.

Natural disasters have worsened Cambodia’s plight. In 2000, the worst flooding in 70 years affected 3.5 million people and damaged 305 of the country’s rice fields. Some observers warn that Cambodia’s increasing poverty could fuel a fresh round of instability and violence. The country is already deeply scarred by decades of civil war, following the American carpet bombing and invasion of Cambodia during the U.S. war against Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s. A long-time observer of Cambodian affairs has been quoted as saying,” The situation in the countryside is worse now than in the 1960s. More and more farmers are abandoning their land, and either moving to Phnom Penh trying to find work, or emigrating to Thailand to find jobs—and badly paid jobs at that.”

Questions 1—7

Complete the following notes using information from the passage. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS OR A NUMBER in boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet.
Cambodia’s Poverty Problem

• government trying to develop rural areas
• to stop the drift of poor farmers into(Example) Answer: Phnom Penh
• aid is being sought from (1).
• critics say that donated funds are being wasted because of (2),
but the government says that the money is (3).
• (4) is essential for economic growth.
• to begin to tackle poverty, Cambodia’s economy must grow by (5) a year.
• economy has not grown since (6), because of the (7).

Questions 8-11
Complete the following sentences using information in the passage. Choose the appropriate phrase A -C from the list in the box, and write its letter in the boxes 8—11 on your answer sheet. You may use any phrase more than once.

A more.. . than
B less.., than, fewer. . .than
C as many... as, as much.. .as

8. Phnom Penh receives_________migrants from the countryside per year________ any other Southeast Asian city.
9. The economic growth forecast for this year shows 3.5%________growth________ what is needed to fight poverty.
10. There are________landless farmers now________in the 1960s.
11. It costs________to hire workers in Cambodia________in China.

Answer: 1-donor countries, 2-mismanagement and corruption,
3-being spent wisely, 4-solid infrastructure,
5-8%(or eight percent), 6-1988, 7-Asian financial crisis,
8-A, 9-B, 10-A, 11-C

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