The government has initiated a plan to enhance public administration reform which emphasises improving the quality, efficiency and performance of officials and institutions. It includes practical measures and a budgetary focus on developmental projects.

The measures were agreed upon during a meeting of the National Committee for Promoting the Implementation of Key Measures for Public Administration Reform, chaired by Prime Minister Hun Manet last week.

The meeting’s outcomes, detailed in a November 10 statement by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers Vongsey Vissoth, outline the government’s decision to persist with the ongoing reform efforts.

The overhauls are part of the Pentagonal Strategy-Phase I and involve launching key changes aimed to yield tangible results in key areas of public administration.

Central to these reforms is the introduction of a merit-based, transparent, fair, inclusive and efficient staff recruitment system.

The measures focus on capacity building and institutional achievement to enhance work quality, discipline, professional ethics, efficiency and effectiveness.

Vissoth’s announcement also mandates all ministries, institutions and sub-national administrations to adopt a new, scientific approach towards workforce management and utilisation. This includes conducting thorough reviews and analyses of institutional functions and defining human resource needs.

He directed all relevant bodies to realign their budgets, focusing on efficiency, achievement and internal motivation. He noted that this would entail scrutinising national and development partner allocations.

He set a deadline for completing structural reviews and functional analyses of relevant ministries and state institutions by the third quarter of 2024.

He also reminded those bodies that they are prohibited from recruiting civil servants until they have completed the reviews.  

Yang Kim Eng, president of the People Centre for Development and Peace, welcomed the reforms. He emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts for effective public administration reform and urged relevant officials to embrace public criticism and information for proper implementation of government guidelines.

He noted that while some progress has been made, such as reducing the number of “ghost officials”, he advocated for fewer political officials and an increase in professional officers to enhance the effectiveness of the reform.

The implementation timeline for these measures spans from 2023-2028. It is structured in three phases: 2023-2024 for review and preparation, 2025-2026 for more effective implementation and 2027-2028 for further review and evaluation to strengthen and expand the reforms, as per Vissoth.