International donors say they are going to wait until a UN Development Program assessment team completes its work with the Cambodian Mine Action Center this summer before deciding to commit more money.
Though they appeared generally pleased with the reforms already made by CMAC officials, a majority of donors are still holding back funding following last year’s near fatal audits of the agency’s management.
Without a bulk of its donor funds, CMAC has been dealing with a money crisis ever since the discovery of questionable financial practices and mismanagement of government funds.
At a steering committee meeting Tuesday, CMAC officials told donors they are still facing a $4 million shortfall.
That is the case despite several large sums of money being recently released to the agency, primarily from Australia.
One diplomat said that the $4 million was “not an impossible sum” and could likely be made up if the agency continued on its current reform schedule.
“[CMAC] provided a lot of answers and updates as to where they are,” the diplomat said. “But there are some donors that are going to ask some more questions and there are still a bunch of problems.”
