Ministries and other national bodies

A Defense Ministry spokesman yesterday denied Thai media reports that Cambodian Minister of Defence Tea Banh had discussed the potential reopening of access to Preah Vihear temple from the Thai side of the border during recent talks. ...

The Environment and Education Ministries will expand their eco-school program to all primary and secondary schools across the country over the course of 2017, provided they have the necessary human and financial resources to do so. ...

The Ministry of Environment is encouraging people living in or around protected areas to start feeding and domesticating wild animals, and to abstain from eating them, with similar strategies in animal conservation being attempted in communities in Preah Vihear province. ...

On Monday, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a new phase of the Public Financial Management Reform Program, a donor-assisted initiative established in 2004 to bolster the country’s ability to soundly manage its budget. In a speech at the launch event, he touted the government’s progress ...

Justice Minister Ang Vong Vathana met on Friday with the National Assembly’s opposition-led human rights commission to discuss issues related to judicial independence and court procedure, including government interference in the court system and abuse of the pretrial detention system.   ...

The government was unaware of about half of the residential child care centers operating in four provinces and Phnom Penh prior to a study conducted last year, according to a report released on Thursday. ...

Judge and prosecutors were called to a two-day workshop to address the sector’s pervasive ethics challenges, but legal experts said change could not occur until there were concrete rules, instead of vague moral guidelines. ...

A new survey released by Cambodia’s Social Affairs Ministry on Thursday showed that the number of residential care institutions in the country’s five key provinces increased to 267 last year, up 92 percent from only 139 in the year before. ...

Despite a decline in the amount of exports, income from the fisheries sector rose almost 30 percent last year compared with 2014. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture has rejected a request from private-sector rubber firms – led by agricultural tycoon Mong Reththy – for a meeting to discuss the floundering fortunes of the nation’s rubber sector, claiming the ministry was busy and was already addressing the issue. ...

The government will increase the special tax on alcohol and cigarettes produced locally, with the implementation of the new tax to be effective from April 1, a move that has concerned producers. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced yesterday that his ministry plans to construct a prison capable of holding 7,000 inmates on an 800 hectare plot of land in Pursat province. ...

Cambodia is closely watching the situation of yellow fever virus, though the country has not seen any case of the virus, said a joint statement from the Health Ministry and the World Health Organization on Wednesday. ...

With global oil prices down and a devalued United States dollar, the price of gold has remained stable and has risen slightly while trade at gold shops has been steady, a gold shop owner said yesterday. ...

The National Police have sent a proposal letter to Interior Minister Sar Kheng, asking him to stop customs officials from fining or confiscating vehicles with police license plates after five police vehicles were stopped and forced to pay an import tax last year, causing an ...

A Ministry of Interior report showed that the ministry used about 7.7 million liters of fuel in 2015, representing an increase of more than one million liters if compared to 2014. ...

Almost every province in Cambodia is facing some level of drought, according to director of the Meteorology Department at the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology Oum Ryna, but only a few provinces were facing a severe shortage of water. ...

As a two-day ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) summit on terrorism and organised crime held in Siem Reap closed yesterday, Interior Ministry counter-terrorism director General Em Sam An highlighted the growing toll transnational crime was exacting upon ASEAN members. ...

Though praised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China’s release of Mekong River water from the Jinghong dam on March 15 is unlikely to bring much relief to downstream countries like Cambodia, water experts said yesterday.   ...

Singapore-based oil and gas firm KrisEnergy has not responded to inquiries from the government on when it will start work on the offshore field it has the rights to in the Gulf of Thailand known as Block A. ...

The government issued its first scheduled recalculation of the fuel-pricing mechanism it rolled out on March 15, increasing the price cap on gasoline by 100 riel. ...

Thirteen provinces across the country have finished harvesting their dry season rice and yields have increased on last year’s crop, but local millers and exporters are concerned about the bulk of the crop making its way to a neighboring country.   ...

A transparency advocate yesterday cautiously greeted a plan for consultation between judges, prosecutors and Justice Ministry officials handling land dispute and other controversial cases, though an international lawyer said it could compromise judicial independence.   ...

Reforming public financial management will not be effective unless there are enough qualified human resources at ministries and institutions, the prime minister said yesterday. ...