Well, Cambodia's Prime Minister has issued a new order overruling the decree that the municipality had issued some time back, but which resulted in a lot of hot air last week, according to today's Cambodia Daily (12-2-2007). The new 'order' states :
For the license plate the next procedure has been devised:
'As of Feb 10, tuk-tuk drivers are again able to place ads on their vehicles. But first, [tuk-tuk] taxi drivers must have a license plate and a driver's license.'Seems logical, every vehicle needs a license plate and concerning a driver's license it seems one needs one but nobody in Cambodia has got one with the exception of some who have 'bought' their license.
For the license plate the next procedure has been devised:
'Upon applying, it can take up to one month to receive a license plate, Peng Sokun, deputy chief of the municipal works and transportation office said. "If you want the plate early, you have to spend more," he said, adding that it costs $25 to $30 to get a plate in one day.'Now if they can issue the license plate within a day, why does it normally cost a month? And why the uncertainty of the fee, either it's 25 or 30 $US, if not such comments can result in encouraging practices, as upon request it will always be 30$US. And why this enormous amount? Most civil servants get around 2-3 $US / work day, so the additional cost implies that nearly half a dozen civil servants are required to work for the issuance of this license plate only. Or is Crossing Cambodia mis-informed? And now on to the beautification of the city ...