ADB Blocked Further Grievance

NGO’s Reaction and the ADB’s Response

On 11 March 2008, the NGO Forum on Cambodia wrote to the ADB on the issuance of the HW1 PCR, reminding the ADB, among others, about their earlier commitment on 16 March 2007, i.e., "[the ADB accepts the NGO Forum on Cambodia’s] suggestion of not having a final closure of the Resettlement Audit Report and PCR until the outstanding issues are reviewed and finalized during a next tripartite meeting between the NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGO Forum), IRC, and ADB." The NGO Forum on Cambodia also pointed out that Mr. Nessim Ahmad, the ADB’s Director of the Environment and Social Safeguards Division, reiterated this commitment in public, while he was speaking at a panel discussion during the ADB’s annual meeting in Kyoto, Japan in May 2007.

In their response on 21 March 2008, ADB defended the issuance of the PCR. One of the main reasons they cited was, “the [PCR] has to be issued by the ADB 12 to 24 months after project completion (civil works completion). This is a mandatory requirement under ADB's Operations Manual (OM Section KIIOP paragraph 5) for operations evaluation purposes related to independent evaluation by ADB's Operations Evaluation Department. The project completion for the [HW1 Project] occurred on September 2005, and Loan Account was closed on 12 May 2006. Consequently, the PCR should have been issued at the very latest by September 2007.”

Materials
ADB’s HW1 Project Completion Report (PCR), dated December 2007.

ADB Director’s Reference to the HW1 PCR at the ADB’s Annual Meeting in May 2007 in Kyoto, Japan.

NGO Forum’s Letter to the ADB, dated 11 March 2008.

ADB’s Response to the NGO Forum Letter, dated 21 March 2008.