Cambodian businesses complain of government corruption

The call came as representatives from the World Bank and donor countries met with the government in Phnom Penh.

Some donors were strongly critical about alleged corruption, saying it could force a cut in aid.

A US government study estimates that up to $500m of public funds is lost to corruption in Cambodia each year.

The government and donors had not met for almost three years, so the two days of talks offered an important chance for the parties to say what they expected of each other.

A BBC correspondent in Phnom Penh says the actual amount of aid the donors will pledge is not in much doubt - they are likely to give more than $600m a year over the next three years.

MONEY MATTERS More than half of the country's population lives on less than $1 a day International aid accounts for nearly 50% of the national budget A World Bank survey suggested more than 80% of companies say they have suffered because of corruption

But donors are particularly worried about allegations of corruption, and a lack of financial accountability.

The World Bank, which is co-hosting the Consultative Group of donors, said the Cambodian government faced some difficult decisions.

"If Cambodia demonstrates unambiguously that it has chosen the road to improve governance and poverty reduction, then I am sure the members of the Consultative Group will be generous in their financial and technical support," said the banks' country director Ian Porter.

Prime Minister Hun Sen said the government would make greater efforts to tackle corruption.

"Reform is not just shallow work. Implementing reform requires not only political will but also considerable human and financial resources," he said.

But our correspondent says donor countries are now at the point where they want to see concrete actions, rather than promises.

US ambassador Charles Ray said corruption threatened Cambodia's economic, political and social development.

The slow pace of reforms to the civil service and the judiciary has also been highlighted as an obstacle to Cambodia's development.

Last week, the World Bank said that Cambodia was at a critical point in its history and that failure to accelerate reforms and eliminate corruption would have dire consequences for the country.