Kompong Speu Sugar
While doing business Kompong Speu Sugar also trying to raise the living standard of Cambodian people and to improve the quality of life by providing jobs to people in the area of where we have been operating. In all our business activities we had submit ourselves and follow all rules and regulations of the Kingdom of Cambodia. However, although we did everything that comply with the law still problems occurred.
We never ignore problems, whenever problem occur we reported to the government, calling all related parties to discuss and find solution to whatever problem happens. In 2014 we had done many activities for both helping and solving problems with local people and some of those activities are as the followings:
SOLVING LAND ISSUE
1. Case study
a. Collecting information and documents that related to the problems. As the result we had collected most of documents from our company, villagers, community chief, and as well as NGO. All those information are previous size of the problem, area and numbers that already solved new problems and list of people who are involving with current problem.
b. Finding of who took parts in problem and who are still involving with current problem. The problem related parties are: EU, company, villagers, community leaders, CPP, CNRP, local NGOs and others.
2. Teamwork forming
In forming the team to deal with this problem we had selected people from different background and those people also know the problem well. The team members are as the followings:
a. There are people from the effected community
b. People from both political parties
c. The village elders
d. The company representatives
The reason that we had chosen people from different area is because we wanted to make sure that we are not bias and we need to know the true nature and the root of the problem.
3. Fact finding
a. Going from village to villages to find out whether names on the list are real or not.
b. Observe and study the true issue
c. Work with local authority
d. Work with elders in villages
e. Work with both political parties
f. We also work with related NGOs
4. Solutions
Through the fact finding process we found that not all people that complain and file case against the company are affected in the problem, so we had manage solution to the problem as follow:
a. The first step is to sort out those problem maker (those that are not affect in land issue but try to be part in land issue).
b. For those who really affected by land issue we had separate them and we solve village by village (one village at a time).
c. We had divided the solution into two parts, one is to pay cash and the second one is to exchange for the new land.
Please note that this land issue previously we had already solve it once already but what we had found is that even those who already got our payment from the previous solution still claim that the company did not pay anything to them so many of them are raising issue to company again but for those kind of people will be the last group that we need to deal with.
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The company looked at the overall condition of community and saw it really need to improve more start with the basic infrastructure, so the company had set up the step by step development program to help community as well as helping the government in development project in area where we located. The following is our step by step development planning:
Starting with Road construction, building electricity system, water supply system, create market for local business people (for agriculture product), general education, educate local people about agriculture and small business development.
We had been doing the first and the second step in our planning by building the main road, sub road and the electricity supply system already set up. We built school for the remote villages and we build one market so that people in community have chance to trade their agriculture products and other goods. To some villages we already provide the clean water and we built school for the remote villages so that they are able to send their children to school. Other projects will be followed.
CASH PAYMENT TO LAND OWNER
MEETING WITH VILLAGERS
CHARITY
In part of the raising the live standard of Cambodian people the company had gave away hundreds and thousands US dollars help needy families to have capital start up for day to day job or family businesses. We also pay salary for teachers that teach in school we built, built shelter for those who disable and homeless people, giving some basic daily food for the extremely poor people and also taking part in helping the religious work by providing material and some fund for building temple and so on.
The other main point that the company had been establish is about job creation and it is very important to people who live in that area because Kompong Speu Sugar employed many workers to work in the company.
