Judicial Inspectorate Not Expected To Be Effective

Chea Sim, center, president of the ruling Cambodian People's Party, Heng Samring, rear left, the party honorary president, Hun Sen, foreground, the party's vice president and the prime minister of the Cambodian government.

Supporters say it will speed up judicial reform, but opponents say it won’t serve the public.

21.09.2012

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer

WASHINGTON DC - Prime Minister Hun Sen has approved a new inspectorate office for the judicial system that critics say is unnecessary and potentially harmful.

The 16-member agency, called the Inspection Office of the Supreme Council of Magistracy, was initiated by Supreme Court chief Dith Munthy and Cabinet Minister Sok An, according to government officials and media reports.

It would increase the influence of Sok An, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister and already the co-chairman of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform, over the Supreme Council of Magistracy, which is an independent oversight body.

Former Cambodian army commander enters government along with 9 new members

Phnom Penh (Cambodia), 07/07/2007. Military officials having their picture taken on the occasion of the inauguration of the new National Assembly. On March 12th, MPs placed their trust in recently dismissed former Cambodian army commander Ke Kim Yan, now appointed deputy prime Minister (Photo: John Vink / Magnum)

12-03-2009
By Duong Sokha
Ka-set

Already disparaged and criticised because it hosts more than 360 Ministers, secretaries of state and under-secretaries of state altogether, the Cambodian government will soon welcome ten new members. On Thursday March 12th, during a brief extraordinary session held at the National Assembly in the presence of rime Minister Hun Sen, 86 out of 87 MPs (one abstention) placed their trust in the newcomers. Among them, Ke Kim Yan, who was removed as Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) commander in chief by a Royal Decree on January 22nd after Hun Sen suggested the proposition, is now appointed “deputy prime Minister in charge of combating drugs”. The high-ranking official is now back in favour and becomes, as announced a week before, the tenth prime Minister of this excessive government. The session was ignored by the two opposition political formations, the Human Rights Party and the one led by Sam Rainsy, who had his parliamentary immunity restored a few days before the vote.

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Hun Sen's new appointees: Do-nothing but collect gov't salary

New govt appointees given positions but no responsibility

Thursday, 30 October 2008
Written by Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

The government is larger than ever with about 50 more senior positions than last time round but some are asking: what are they all doing?

A RAPID post-election increase in the number of government positions has left many newly appointed officials with little to do despite the fact they are now on the payroll.

"Most of the secretaries of state at the Council of Ministers have nothing to do," said a senior official from the Council of Ministers who declined to be named.

"What work have they got to do? They are new officials in new posts. Some of them just do some work for other Cambodian Peoples' Party secretaries of state," he told the Post Tuesday.

In the fourth mandate of Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP government the size of the executive has increased from 200 secretary of state, minister, senior minister and deputy prime minister positions to 247.

"They have seats but they have nothing to do," the CoM official said.

"Until now, all the work has not been divided us and shared out with them."

The problem has arisen as more official positions have been created and filled, but the original officials are still in their positions and still doing their jobs, he said.

The problem extends from ministerial positions down through under-secretaries of state to deputy provincial governors, he added.

He said that in the CoM there are sixteen secretaries of state some of whom who have no work to do.

"We have a huge number of members of government and some of them must be free. They have seats but they sit and do nothing," said Puthea Hang, the executive director of monitoring organisation, Nicfec.

Too many cooks

"There are a huge number of officials who not only do nothing but are also an obstacle for the Kingdom's ongoing development because of the corruption issues," opposition Sam Rainsy Party law maker Yim Sovann said Tuesday.

"I have never seen any country the same as Cambodia, this is a very strange country," he added.

According to secretary of state and spokesman for the Council of Ministers, Phay Siphan, all secretaries of stateshould be busy working as they have positions with specific duties attached to them.

"If any secretary of state said that he has no work to do, it means that he is not a secretary of state," Phay Siphan told the Post Tuesday.

He said that duties were being arranged for new positions but acknowledged that some of the new positions have not yet had work responsibilities assigned to them. This had resulted in some ministers being short on day-to-day work - a problem the government is trying to rectify, he said.

Phay Siphan said every effort was made to ensure that the individual strengths and experiences of newly appointed secretaries of state were used as best they could be for the benefit of the country as a whole.

Roborb Khmer Thmey (The New Khmer Regim) - A Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea (on the web at http://kamnapkumnou.blogspot.com)

Assembly Approves [hyper-bloated] CPP-Dominant Cabinet

Prime Minister Hun Sen addresses reporters following the National Assembly's approval of 26 Cambodian People's Party ministers.

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
25 September 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

A freshly sworn-in National Assembly on Thursday voted in Prime Minister Hun Sen's executive cabinet, granting as expected all top posts to those loyal to the Cambodian People's Party and spreading lower-level ministry positions among CPP and Funcinpec.

The entire cabinet was approved in a package vote that critics say defied the checks and balances of the National Assembly's right to singularly approve cabinet nominations.

"The fourth legislative government has a duty to push the development and push deeply and widely the implementation of reforms in all fields for prosperity and progress," Hun Sen told the assembled lawmakers.

Missing from the National Assembly's first session were 26 Sam Rainsy Party lawmakers, who attended a swearing-in ceremony Wednesday but boycotted the session Thursday.

Also absent Thursday were three Human Rights Party officials who were elected in July but refused to be sworn in Wednesday. The three officials have said they hope to request a separate swearing-in ceremony after the Pchum Ben festival, which ends Sept. 30.

Both parties have protested the election results from July, where the CPP won 90 of 123 National Assembly seats.

Thursday's appointments marked the formation of the largest cabinet for the government to date, with 248 positions. Some positions had to be added to the government to accommodate former opposition members who joined the CPP ahead of the elections.

"The Human Rights Party disagrees with the new government's composition, which has a bigger head than body," HRP President Kem Sokha said. "So the Human Rights Party did not join the National Assembly meeting."

No ministry positions were given to the Sam Rainsy, Human Rights, or Norodom Ranariddh parties.

But the Norodom Ranariddh Party had one cause to celebrate Thursday: King Norodom Sihamoni announced he would grant a royal pardon to the exiled leader of the party, Prince Ranariddh, following a request from Hun Sen. Prince Ranariddh left Cambodia in early 2007 and was found guilty in absentia of breach of trust, which carries a prison sentence of 18 months and a fine of $150,000.

In a letter to the king and prime minister, Prince Ranariddh said he planned to return Sept. 28, in time to participate in Pchum Ben festivities.

Nine deputy prime minister positions were approved, including one position for Funcinpec Secretary-General Nhiek Bunchhay, as well as 16 senior minister posts, 26 ministers and 196 secretaries of state.

The ministries of Rural Development, Transportation, Education, Health, Culture lost Funcinpec leaders.

Among those promoted, former Phnom Penh governor Chea Sophara, was given minister of Rural Development.

The 26 new CPP ministers follow: Council Minister, Sok An; Interior, Sar Kheng; Defense, Tea Banh; Foreign Affairs, Hor Namhong; Economy and Finance, Keat Chhon; Agriculture, Chan Sarun; Rural Development, Chea Sophara; Commerce, Cham Prasidh; Industry, Suy Sem; Planning, Chay Thon; Education, Em Sithy; Social Affairs, Ith Samheng; Urbanization, Em Chhun Lim; Environment, Mok Mareth; Water Resources, Lim Keanhor; Information, Khieu Kanharith; Justice, Ang Vong Vathana; Inspection, Som Kimsuor; Telecommunications, So Khun; Health, Mom Bunheng; Public Works and Transport, Trang Iv Tek; Culture and Fine Arts, Him Chem; Tourism, Thong Khon; Cults and Religion, Men Khin; Women's Affairs, Ing Kantha Thavy; Labor and Vocation, Vong Soth.