A time lapse bird’s-eye view of Battambang town lit up at night last August. Yousos Apdoulrashim
Battambang province is set to host a public forum on December 5 and 6 to address citizens’ challenges and concerns.
The forum will be held under the theme “Let’s join and strengthen the ‘safe village-commune’ policy,” as announced by Uy Ry, chairman of the Battambang provincial council, during a November 20 meeting.
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“This forum aims to contribute to the implementation of the government’s decentralisation and deconcentration reform policy. It seeks to enhance governance at the administrative level, fostering democracy at the grassroots level and supporting socio-economic development for a meaningful contribution to poverty reduction across Cambodia,” he said.
The forum is scheduled for the provincial council to apprise the city, district, commune, community and stakeholders about its annual activities. This responds to request to engage in discussions and provide clarification on challenges faced by the participants.
“The forum also seeks to enhance responsiveness to local needs, communicate the roles, tasks and responsibilities of the council and the provincial council, and engage in consultation to address challenges, concerns and priority needs with local residents. This includes studying and finding suitable solutions to respond promptly to the situation,” he explained.
Am Sam Ath, operations director at rights group LICADHO, emphasised the significance of public forums for authorities to address people’s concerns, particularly daily life-related issues such as the implementation of the “safe village-commune” policy. He points out the need for authorities to review and improve their implementation based on the insights gathered.
“The provincial administration can collect people’s requests, considering them for resolution. If unresolved locally, the case can escalate to the national level or relevant institutions. Historically, the Ministry of Interior has addressed many such issues,” he explained.
Sam Ath stated that he wants these public forums to be held regularly and without any political bias, so the authorities can gather the opinions of the people so as to promote quick and timely solutions to problems.
Rights group Adhoc spokesman Soeng Sen Karuna said that holding such a public forum is a good thing, but the provincial authorities should invite all stakeholders, especially people with problems to participate in this forum.
“I’ve received extensive feedback from the grassroots level about past public forums, where residents felt singled out by the authorities for participation. Therefore, I recommend a more inclusive approach to organising this forum,” he added.
