Phnom Penh (FN), Mar. 19 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet shared 13 recommendations for the Ministry of Rural Development to improve inclusive development and enhance citizens' livelihoods as well as reduce poverty in the rural areas, speaking on Wednesday (Mar. 20).
The 13 recommendations are as follows:
1. The Ministry of Rural Development shall formulate the Policy on Rural Development 2025-2035 and the Policy on Rural Roads as soon as possible to serve as a legal document for the promotion and enhancement of rural development sector.
2. Samdech Thipadel encourages the Ministry of Rural Development to continue focusing on enhancing the quality of rural roads through research and development, aimed at building, repairing, upgrading, and improving rural roads using new technologies. The ministry, in particular, shall focus on constructing, upgrading, and improving rural roads to be resilient to climate change and other disasters, ensuring their long-term usability.
3. The Ministry of Rural Development shall collaborate with the Ministry of Economy and Finance on budgeting for the maintenance and repair of high-quality rural roads to ensure year- round usability, especially on rural roads that have been double-layer rubberized, in accordance with the Royal Government of Cambodia's principle of improving quality by 70% and expanding connectivity by 30%.
4. The Ministry of Rural Development shall collaborate with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, capital and provincial authorities, and relevant institutions to: 1) Prepare a roadmap, inventory, and assign accurate street numbers based on existing legal documents 2) Prepare the amendments to Sub-Decree No. 141 on the Establishment of the Steering Committee for the Inspection of Overweight Vehicles to protect roads for sustainable public use. 3) Prepare the amendments to Sub-Decree No. 197 on the Management of Roadside Land on National Roads and Railways to include roadside land along provincial and rural roads to preserve all types of roadside land for future development and serve the interests of the entire population.
5. Relevant ministries, institutions, and local authorities at all levels must engage in preventing overweight transport by all vehicle types on rural roads and must also collaborate in educating and disseminating information to residents along rural roads, urging them to stop blocking drainage canals on both sides of the road, as this impacts road quality.
6. Samdech Thipadei urges the Ministry of Rural Development to collaborate with the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, and other relevant ministries/institutions to review their jurisdictions and to avoid overlaps that may hinder or delay the provision of water to people in rural areas.
7. The Ministry of Rural Development must promote and improve the living conditions of people in rural areas by reinforcing the execution of existing mechanisms to fulfill the objectives of the political platform of the Royal Government of Cambodia of the 7th legislature of the National Assembly for National Building and Defense 2023-2028, aiming to achieve 100% clean water and sanitation coverage nationwide by 2030.
8. The Ministry of Rural Development must continue promoting and broadening activities for rural economic diversification to enhance livelihoods and decrease poverty in rural areas. This involves promoting employment, entrepreneurship, economic activities, and vocational training for job creation and income generation via the development of model villages, as well as the development and conservation of indigenous communities.
9. The Ministry of Rural Development shall prepare the amendment to Sub-Decree No. 51 dated 21 June 2001 on the Amendment to Sub-Decree No. 78 dated 1 December 1997 on the Organization and Functioning of the Ministry of Rural Development to update the functions and responsibilities of the Ministry in response to daily work in line with the ongoing social, economic, and technological developments. [The Ministry] shall continue to increase and enhance the capacity development of civil servants at all levels, both at the national and sub-national levels, and strive to further improve the institution by focusing on motivating and assigning officials in accordance with meritocracy, with the goal of effectively, transparently, and accountably serving the people.
10. The Ministry of Rural Development shall continue to expand and strengthen good cooperation with stakeholders, including development partners, local and international NGOs, the private sector, and friendly nations, to mobilize financial and technical support, aiming to foster prosperous rural development.
11.The Ministry of Rural Development shall study, collect and manage data, information and statistics on the economic, social and cultural situations in the rural areas of the Kingdom of Cambodia, including mountainous areas, highlands and lowlands.
12. Samdech Thipadei advises the Ministry of Rural Development to focus on the direction of short-, medium- and long-term plans for rural development, aiming to improve the economic, social and cultural situations of the rural population, including ethnic minorities in the Kingdom of Cambodia, gradually reduce poverty and bridge the gap between the rural and the urban areas.
13.The Ministry of Rural Development shall continue to focus on formulating rural development strategy towards achieving the goal of ensuring the rise in income for rural households sustainably and ensuring the betterment of the well-being of the rural population, contributing to the achievement of the vision of Cambodia 2030 as a high middle-income country and 2050 as a high-income country.
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