500 Funcinpec Officials To Score Gov’t Jobs

More than 500 Funcinpec mem­­bers will be appointed to new jobs with the rank of deputy director in every department, in every ministry of the government, officials said.

The mass influx has raised fears among its coalition partner, the CPP, that the new appointees lack expertise for their newly ac­quired posts.

“We will choose Funcinpec mem­bers to be promoted as dep­u­­ty directors of departments in every ministry in Phnom Penh and the provinces,” Kung Hun­thea­rith, Funcinpec Interior Min­istry secretary of state, said Tues­day.

“Previously we had very few members who were deputy directors of department. Now we will have [Funcinpec members] in them all,” he said.

Kung Hunthearith said the posts would be filled in the near future and prove that the royalist party has taken care of its members since joining the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

“Prince Ranariddh has tried to help members and find jobs for them,” he said.

Following the formation of the third Funcinpec-CPP coalition government last year, government jobs swelled with the naming of a 186-member cabinet. The prime minister’s line-up included seven deputy prime ministers, 15 senior ministers, 28 ministers and 135 deputy ministers.

Deputy governor positions in the country’s 24 provinces and municipalities also mushroomed with five new deputy governor positions in each province, bringing the total to eight. In Phnom Penh and Siem Reap municipalities, the figure ballooned to some 10 governors and deputies.

Funcinpec’s Chea Chan Bori­bo, Information Ministry secretary of state, said the royalist party was also looking for more positions as director-generals, chiefs and deputy chiefs of offices in all the ministries.

“We sent a request to Fun­cin­pec’s leaders to consider other members for positions in other offices in government,” he said.

Hun Sen understands that it is wise to give jobs to Funcinpec members so that the party “is strong to compete in the forthcoming election,” Chea Chan Boribo said.

Khieu Kanharith, government spokesman and CPP Minister of Information, warned that appointing people without expertise could be a disaster.

“The government is trying to work effectively. But if they ap­point inexperienced people to new posts, or appoint a tea servant to fly a plane, passengers will get killed,” Khieu Kanharith said.