Government
System of government
Petitioners set for Round 2 of showdown with City Hall
Protesters were due to march on four foreign embassies this morning to deliver petitions calling for the release of the 23 detainees held at the remote Correctional Centre 3 after being arrested during the crackdown earlier this month. The march – to the embassies of Germany, ...
Mom Kunthear and Daniel Pye
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/petitioners-set-round-2-showdown-city-hall
Minimum wage up for ministerial discussion
An interministerial committee led by Deputy Prime Minister Keat Chhon will meet next month to discuss the recent minimum wage increase and subsequent fallout. Ministry of Labour spokesman Heng Sour yesterday told the Post that Prime Minister Hun Sen assigned Chhon to lead the meeting ...
Mom Kunthear
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/minimum-wage-ministerial-discussion
Untrained guards rule at protests
Security guards that have forcibly detained protesters in the capital in recent weeks include large numbers of men who have received no government security training, Phnom Penh municipal spokesman Long Dimanche said yesterday. In an effort to recruit civilian “public order” officers, Dimanche told the Post, the ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya and Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/untrained-guards-rule-protests
Embassies abroad get reminder about graft
Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on all embassies and consulates to accelerate visa application procedures and cease charging “unofficial” fees, in an apparent bid to stamp out corruption abroad. ...
Eddie Morton
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/embassies-abroad-get-reminder-about-graft
Hun Sen gives green light for establishment of independent Human Right Committee
Non-Governmental Organizations received green lights from the Royal Government of Cambodia to kick off a draft law on the establishment of a National Independent Committee on Human Rights in Cambodia. Prime Minister of Cambodia tasked the Civil Society Organizations to develop a draft law on the ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=MjRmYTc2NmExNzU
US House passes B Kak bill
A draft US law that would require the World Bank to regularly report to congress about the condition of families displaced or still living in the Boeung Kak lake area was approved Wednesday by the House of Representatives. The bill includes language that specifically requires the ...
Sean Teehan and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/us-house-passes-b-kak-bill
Government Creates New CPP-Majority Province
A government request to create a new province in the eastern half of Kompong Cham, where the ruling CPP won its only districts in the province in July’s national election, was approved by King Norodom Sihamoni last month, according to a copy of the Royal ...
Phorn Bopha and Alex Willemyns
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-creates-new-cpp-majority-province-50391/
Sok An’s son joins government ranks
Sok Sokan, son of Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, has been officially named deputy secretary general within the Council of Ministers – a rank equal to secretary of state – according to November’s Royal Affairs publication released last month. Ek Tha, a spokesman for the Council ...
Vong Sokheng
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sok-%E2%80%99s-son-joins-government-ranks
Call for More Women Representatives in Sub-National Politics
As Cambodia nears its second district and municipal council elections in May, about 200 women councilors from the sub-national level attended a workshop Friday to call for political parties to increase the number of women candidates in the upcoming election. Currently, 12 percent of councilors at ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/call-for-more-women-representatives-in-sub-national-politics-49740/
Prime Minister sister nominated as under-secretary
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s younger sister, Hun Sinath, has been nominated to the position of Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection. She was nominated, at the age of 57, by King Norodom Sihamoni on December 9, 2013. .. ...
The Cambodia Herald News Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=11&token=YWY5ODM4YzAxMjN
Budget to share the wealth: official
The amount of money to be allocated to commune-, district- and province-level governments is slated to rise next year in accordance with the government’s long-gestating attempts at decentralising its power. Provincial- and capital-level funding will rise to about 640.8 billion riel, with 237.2 billion riel ...
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/budget-share-wealth-official
CPP to Inform King, NEC of Opposition’s Assembly Boycott
National Assembly President Heng Samrin will in the coming days send the National Election Committee (NEC) an official letter informing it of the opposition party’s boycott of parliament, according to local media, possibly the first step in the ruling party’s plan to have the opposition’s ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cpp-to-inform-king-nec-of-oppositions-assembly-boycott-49348/
Ezecom CEO made ‘oknha’
Paul Blanche-Horgan, the CEO of internet service provider Ezecom, will now be known as Oknha Paul Blanche-Horgan, making him one of the few Westerners to receive the prestigious and sought-after Cambodian title. Awarded by King Norodom Sihanomi in mid-November, the new status brings Blanche-Horgan, who has ...
Daniel de Carteret
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/ezecom-ceo-made-%E2%80%98oknha%E2%80%99
Suy Sem Set for Reinstatement as Minister of Mines and Energy
The National Assembly will vote this month to decide whether the ruling CPP’s recently removed Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, Suy Sem, will be appointed as the new Minister of Mines and Energy, CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun said Friday. Mr. Sem’s return to his old, ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/suy-sem-set-for-reinstatement-as-minister-of-mines-and-energy-48820/
Rule hanging over NA
A ruling party lawmaker and parliamentary spokesman said yesterday that the National Assembly will consider invoking an internal rule that could force the opposition party to replace its elected lawmakers with lower-ranked candidates from within the party if their boycott continues beyond a deadline. Principle 83 ...
Kevin Ponniah and Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rule-hanging-over-na
Government salaries to no longer be paid in cash
The wages of 400,000 civil servants from 39 government ministries are to be paid via a new electronic banking system due to be rolled out next month. Secretary of State for the Ministry of Economy and Finance Chu Kim Leng announced the new payroll system on ...
Chan Muy Hong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/government-salaries-no-longer-be-paid-cash
National Bank Governor’s Daughter Named New Director-General
Chea Serey, the daughter of National Bank Governor Chea Chanto, has been promoted to director-general of the central bank, she confirmed this week. Ms. Serey will replace Nguon Sokha, who said that she left the National Bank about a month ago after being appointed as a ...
Colin Meyn
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/national-bank-governors-daughter-named-new-director-general-48069/
Food-price hike hits workers
The price of food spiked this month, and Cambodia’s low-paid garment workers are feeling the effects. Meat, vegetables, toothbrushes, beauty accessories and even the plastic bags they get packed in have all seen a sharp bump up in price this month, some items by as much ...
Daniel de Carteret and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/food-price-hike-hits-workers
Customs' taxing dilemma
Average Cambodians are to pay the price for stamping out corruption in the customs department. Prices for basic goods, such as food and clothing, rose recently after the department was ordered last week to clean up its act and apply the official tax rate, importers told ...
Daniel de Carteret and Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/business/customs-taxing-dilemma
Foreign Minister’s Son to Step Down as UK Envoy
Hor Nambora, the son of Foreign Minister Hor Namhong, will step down as Cambodia’s ambassador to Britain, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Cheung Buntheng, undersecretary of state at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said Tuesday that Meas Kimheng, an adviser to Mr. ...
Phorn Bopha
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/foreign-ministers-son-to-step-down-as-uk-envoy-47397/
CPP Parliament Approves Ministry Split, Ministers Unclear
The CPP-dominated National Assembly on Wednesday approved a law that will see the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy split into two separate ministries, but has yet to decide who will head the new bodies. The CPP’s 68 lawmakers unanimously passed a measure that will see ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/cpp-parliament-approves-ministry-split-ministers-unclear-46944/
One-Party Parliament Effortlessly Passes $3.56 Billion Budget
Sixty-six National Assembly members of the ruling CPP on Tuesday unanimously approved Cambodia’s $3.56 billion draft budget for 2014 without debate and without even the hint of an opposition, whose 55 lawmakers-elect are boycotting parliament in protest over July’s still-disputed national election result. The ruling party ...
Hul Reaksmey
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/one-party-parliament-effortlessly-passes-3-56-billion-budget-46913/
Industry Ministry to Be Split, New ‘Handicraft’ Focus
The National Assembly is set to dismantle the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, rebuilding it as the Ministry of Mines and Energy and creating a new Ministry of Industry and Handicrafts, a senior CPP lawmaker confirmed on Friday. The move comes just a few weeks ...
Kuch Naren
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/industry-ministry-to-be-split-new-handicraft-focus-46782/
Rise of the bureaucrats
When the ruling Cambodian People’s Party promised civil servants a pay rise earlier this year, some suggested it was also trying to give them a reason to vote for it in July’s national election. The 20 per cent increase came amid the opposition Cambodia National Rescue ...
Daniel Pye and Sen David
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/rise-bureaucrats