National government
Ministries and other national bodies
Health ministry confirms first case of measles in four years
Three months after the Health Ministry proclaimed Cambodia measles-free—after tests on a child suspected to be carrying the disease came back negative—it announced on Wednesday that a 7-month-old in Kompong Speu province has contracted the highly contagious virus. It is the first confirmed case in ...
Ben Sokhean
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/health-ministry-confirms-first-case-of-measles-in-four-years-106654/
Commerce minister proposes ‘extra premium’ rice brand
At the close of the three-day annual Cambodia Rice Forum, Commerce Minister Sun Chanthol on Tuesday suggested that the first-rate rice brand set to be launched on the international market this year be marketed as “Extra Premium” jasmine rice. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/commerce-minister-proposes-extra-premium-rice-brand-106528/
New body to address Sesan dam concerns
The Ministry of Mines and Energy has created a committee to resolve compensation and resettlement issues for 1,000 families displaced by the controversial Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-body-address-sesan-dam-concerns
New tourism strategy to focus on Chinese market
A new five-year plan is being drafted to woo more Chinese tourists to the Kingdom, following a surge in visitors from the world’s most populous nation, Tourism Minister Thong Khon said yesterday. /Sum Manet ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20580/new-tourism-strategy-to-focus-on-chinese-market/
Ministry, Chinese firm spar over Siem Reap mine
The Ministry of Mines and Energy is currently working to withdraw the licence of a copper mining company in Siem Reap province’s Chi Kraeng district that it accuses of operating illegally for more than a year. ...
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-chinese-firm-spar-over-siem-reap-mine
Protest derails provincial sand dredging operation
After over 100 villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district spent three days protesting a sand dredging operation near their homes in Srey Chang village, the company responsible for allegedly affecting villager’s jobs and drinking water source agreed to stop their project in its entirety. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20548/protest-derails-provincial-sand-dredging-operation/
Protest derails provincial sand dredging operation
After over 100 villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district spent three days protesting a sand dredging operation near their homes in Srey Chang village, the company responsible for allegedly affecting villager’s jobs and drinking water source agreed to stop their project in its entirety. ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20548/protest-derails-provincial-sand-dredging-operation/
Ministry to streamline ID process
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has sent a new set of procedures to local authorities aimed at speeding up the sluggish process of issuing new IDs. ...
Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministry-streamline-id-process
Interior ministry threatens to fire “ghost employees” who haunt gov’t offices
The Interior Ministry has warned 140 of its employees to stop skipping work or risk being fired. It is one of the first government ministries to penalize “ghost workers” – the thousands of bureaucrats, police officers, and other civil servants who are on the government ...
May Titthara / Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20480/interior-ministry-threatens-to-fire----ghost-employees----who-haunt-gov---t-offices/
New standards for recruitment agencies
The Ministry of Labour on Saturday issued a 12-point set of standards for recruitment agencies sending workers abroad, warning operators they have just over a month to comply. ...
Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-standards-recruitment-agencies
Ministries announce lower licensing costs
Driver’s licence and vehicle inspection fees have been cut nearly in half, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation announced late last week. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ministries-announce-lower-licensing-costs
Exports through port rise nearly 10 percent from 2014
The number of ships coming through the port rose 17 percent year to year, and cruise ships rose from 25 to 36. ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/exports-through-port-rise-nearly-10-percent-from-2014/3154467.html
‘Skills gap’ remains an impediment to growth, new report says
Cambodia must tackle the skills gap to boost the productivity of its labor force in order to grow its economy, according to the latest report. ...
Hean Socheata
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/skills-gap-remains-an-impediment-to-growth-new-report-says/3156042.html
Mining ministry hits pay dirt in ’15
The Ministry of Mines and Energy generated a four-fold increase in non-tax revenues from extractive industries last year, collecting just over $17 million, a ministry official said yesterday. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/mining-ministry-hits-pay-dirt-15
Roadside builders told to back off by ministry
The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in an announcement yesterday warned that action would be taken against those who illegally construct on the shoulders of, or fill in canals along, National Road 4 between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/roadside-builders-told-back-ministry
Fishery manual to aid export potential
A trade facilitation manual aimed at increasing the size of Cambodia’s seafood products will be ready by April and looks to help producers and exporters improve their export readiness and take advantage of ASEAN integration. ...
Cheng Sokhorng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/fishery-manual-aid-export-potential
Market vendors hold protest against arrest of colleagues
About 300 vendors from the Tumnup market in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district protested in front of the municipal court on Wednesday to demand that two of their colleagues who were arrested amid a dispute over market fees be released. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/market-vendors-hold-protest-against-arrest-of-colleagues-105953/
Ratanakkiri sanitation push starts
The Ministry of Rural Development, UNICEF and NGO Plan International Cambodia on Monday launched a new project to improve access to sanitation for 2,000 families in Ratanakkiri province. ...
Igor Kossov
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ratanakkiri-sanitation-push-starts
Concessions cancelled as oil price plummets
The government cancelled two concessions for offshore oil – Block B and Block F – held by two foreign companies last year because they failed to comply with the terms of their agreements, senior officials from Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) told Khmer Times ...
May Kunmakara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20315/concessions-cancelled-as-oil-price-plummets/
Religion ministry to hold wedding rituals seminar
In an effort to standardise wedding rituals, Cambodia’s achars, or laymen who carry out Buddhist rites of passage, have been invited to a 10-day training course next month in the capital, the Ministry of Cults and Religion announced last week. ...
Lay Samean
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/religion-ministry-hold-wedding-rituals-seminar
Traffic law enforcement to step up
The government has announced several amendments to the troubled Traffic Law which, according to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, will be fully enforced starting March 15. ...
Mech Dara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/traffic-law-enforcement-step
National assembly passes accounting and auditing law
The National Assembly on Thursday passed an accounting and auditing law that aims to bring financial reporting procedures for the government, NGOs and the private sector in line with international standards. ...
Kang Sothear
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/national-assembly-passes-accounting-and-auditing-law-105501/
Investment in construction reaches all-time high
Investment in the construction sector reached an all-time high last year at almost $3.5 billion, up about 40 percent from the $2.5 billion invested in the sector in 2014, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction. ...
Sum Manet
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/19955/investment-in-construction-reaches-all-time-high/
Draft law to join china-led development bank passes national assembly
The draft law to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank passed the National Assembly yesterday with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition party supporting it, saying it will open the door to a new source of funding for the development of the Kingdom’s ...