PHNOM PENH: The draft law on the amendment of Article 140, to increase the Board of Governors of Municipal, District, Commune, Province and Capital, was approved by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday morning (1 April) under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Hun Sen.

This amendment of Article 140, of the Law on the Administration of Capital, Province, Municipality, District and Commune, will increase the number of members on the board of mayors in districts and communes between five to seven people, set the number of provincial governors (in each province) to between seven to 11 people, and increase the number of members on the capital city board of governors to 11 people.

Government Spokesman, Phay Siphan, said this increase is being made in line with the ongoing sub-national administration reforms focused on decentralization and deconcentration. The government is making a dedicated shift to providing public services and local development to lower-level administrations as part of these reforms.

Spokesman Phay Siphan said, "To improve socio-economic development and the quality of life of the local people, it is essential to strengthen sub-national institutions and human resources, to ensure that each sub-national administration has more capacity and potential to contribute to achieving the Royal Government’s goal of transforming Cambodia into an upper middle income country by 2030."

He added that after this law passes the National Assembly and is officially announced by the King, the number of governors voted into office at each capital, province, municipality, district and commune will be studied and reviewed.

In his closing remarks at the conclusion of the Dissemination and Implementation of the National Program for Sub-National Democratic Development, Phase 2 (2021 to 2030) Workshop on 21 March 2022, Prime Minister Hun Sen stated that the development of human resources at the level of the sub-national administration is an important task Cambodia must undertake in order to further develop, and succeed in mitigating various risks.

He said, "While the sub-national level should be responsible, we see that it is lacking in strength, so we need to amend the law limiting the number of responsible people in the framework of provincial and district governors.”

At present, there are a total of 175 governors in the 25 capitals and provinces of Cambodia — each provincial capital has seven governors. Additionally, there are 1,020 district governors in the 204 municipalities of Cambodia, with five governors in each district.