PM’s Directive Spells Out Top Officials’ Roles

Prime Minister Hun Sen has mov­ed to clarify his own role in government and to explain how in­dividual CPP and Funcinpec ministers and deputy prime ministers should assist him, according to a directive obtained Wednesday.

Hun Sen stated in the directive, dated March 21, that he is responsible for disaster management, general leadership of the Council of Ministers, the ministries of econo­mics and finance, and the Council for the Development of Cambodia.

Funcinpec’s Deputy Prime Min­is­ter Nhiek Bun Chhay is responsible for assisting Hun Sen with the ministries of public work and transport, as well as health, culture and tourism, the directive states.

Hun Sen told CPP Minister of In­terior Sar Kheng to handle routine work in his absence, and to assist with national security, counternarcotics, human trafficking, terrorism and decentralization.

Sok An, CPP minister of the Coun­cil of Ministers, is told to assist Hun Sen in conducting investigations and providing coordination for Cambodia’s reform efforts, particularly in the judiciary.

Lu Laysreng, Funcinpec’s minister of rural development, is to assist Hun Sen in coordinating both that ministry and the ministries of wo­men’s affairs and cult and religious affairs.

CPP Minister of Defense Tea Banh is to assist with national de­fense, the military police and coordinating the ministries of agriculture, social affairs, and water re­sources and meteorology.

Hor Namhong, the CPP’s minister of foreign affairs, is told to assist the prime minister in foreign affairs and commerce.

Hun Sen also stated that each deputy prime minister could have only four advisers and three aides.

Koul Panha, director of the Com­mittee for Free and Fair Elections, said it was rather late for Hun Sen to be explaining the roles of top officials, adding that an excess of sen­ior ministers and deputy prime min­isters has brought confusion to the government’s bloated ranks.

“It is very confusing. [Officials] have overlapped each other,” he said.

Nhiek Bun Chhay said it is not excessive to have six deputy prime ministers, adding that he has been given more responsibilities following the March 2 removal of his colleague Prince Norodom Sirivudh from his position as co-minister of interior.

Also on Wednesday, a royal de­cree was issued to remove Funcin­pec’s governor of Mondolkiri prov­ince, Thou Son, and replace him with the CPP’s Takeo deputy provincial governor Lay Sokha.