Interior minister Sar Sokha addresses the opening ceremony of a consultative workshop in Ratanakkiri province on October 9. Interior ministry
Prime Minister Hun Manet’s seventh-mandate government has announced the temporary suspension of the transfer of functions from the national to sub-national level.
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The pause is intended to allow for the review and improvement of the quality of service provision, and follows the transfer of more than 800 types of functions in recent times, according to Minister of Interior Sar Sokha, chair of the National Committee for Subnational Democratic Development (NCDD).
The announcement was made during the opening ceremony of a consultative workshop on the selection and management of officials based on employment agreements in Ratanakkiri province on Wednesday, October 9, according to the interior ministry.
Deputy Prime Minister Sokha described the suspension as a “braking” to review, refine and enhance the quality of the already transferred functions and to ensure that the upcoming transfers are executed with the highest standards.
“The temporary suspension is not a negative step in the process of sub-national democratic development. Over the past 13 years, citizens, national and international organisations, as well as several friendly countries, including Switzerland, Germany and Australia, have shown strong support and satisfaction with this process,” he said.
He added that their satisfaction stemmed from the previous government's efforts, led by former Prime Minister Hun Sen and former interior minister Sar Kheng, who oversaw the transfer of over 800 functions to municipal, provincial, district and commune administrations.
Sokha highlighted the success of the “One Window Service" mechanism, noting that it has generated millions of dollars annually in public service fees, while the public has benefited from transparent, high-quality services, delivered close to their communities.
However, he emphasised the need for the government to review and reassess some areas of work.
He explained that the NCDD is examining additional services that sub-national administrations may need to improve or transfer, to ensure they meet the specific needs of the Kingdom’s citizens and align with the current situation within each administration.
“There are certain transferred functions that currently lack the appropriate technical staff at the sub-national level,” he conceded.
“This has prompted the government to implement priority mechanisms to enhance human resource quality in these areas,” he noted.
He added that the October 9 consultation workshop is part of the broader effort to strengthen human resources.
One ministry official told The Post that the need for additional training to enhance the capacity of sub-national officers is dependent on each institution. He explained that each provincial unit will identify any areas which may require additional training. Several other officials declined to comment on the issue.
The One Window Service offices across the country provided a total of 454,670 services to citizens during the month of August alone.
Among the services provided, municipal and provincial offices accounted for nearly 80,000 of them. The most requested of these were related to land management, urban planning and construction, totalling 17,930, according to interior ministry spokesman Touch Sokhak.
He also noted that the revenue generated from these One Window Service offices in August amounted to 12,372,216,135 riel, approximately three million US dollars.
Additionally, officials issued over 140,000 family record books and residence books to citizens nationwide over the past year, from September 2023 to August 2024.
