The Royal Government
The council of Ministers is the
Royal Government of the
kingdom of Cambodia.
The Royal Government is the executive organ
of the State led by H.R.H. Prince Norodom
Ranariddh and H.E. Samdech Hun Sen, First
and Second Prime Ministers respectively. The
Royal Government, with its armed forces and
its administration, governs the State. It is in
charge of the overall execution of all national
policies and programmes and is responsible
and accountable to the National Assembly.
The two Prime Ministers are assisted by two
deputy Prime Ministers, each of whom are
also in charge of a separate ministry, the
Ministry of Public Works and Transport and
the Ministry of Interior. The other members
of the Council of Ministers are:
- 6 Senior Ministers or Ministers of State,
three of whom are in charge of separate
ministries, the Ministry of Economy and
Finances, the Ministry of Public Works
and Transports, and the Ministry of
Justice. The other 3 are in charge of
specific mandates of Rehabilitation and
Development, of General Inspection, and
of Culture, Arts, Land Use Planning and
Urbanization.
- 15 Ministers share the responsibilities of 12
ministries, with the exception of two who
are in charge of the Cabinet of the Council
of Ministers, an institution whose task is
to prepare the decisions for the Council of
Ministers both from the political and
administrative side.
- 9 Secretaries of State, 4 of whom hold
autonomous ministerial responsibilities.
The other 5 are in charge of State
Secretariats but directly reporting to the
Council of Ministers.
- 12 Secretaries of State attached to
different ministries.
- In addition, there are more than 50 Under
Secretaries of State who, although not
being part of the Royal Government, art
also considered as political appointees.
Out of them, 2 hold ministerial attributions
(Civil Service and Civil Aviation).
The two Prime Ministers, by virtue of Article
138 of the Constitution, share the same rights,
prerogatives and privileges to run the Royal
Government. The Constitution call s for a
weekly meeting of the members of the
Government under the Chairmanship of the
Prime Ministers (article 104). Plenary sessions
are called Council of Ministers. They can take
full decisions concernant any types of activities
of the government. Restricted sessions are
called Interministerial Meeting. In these sessions,
membership selection are restricted
according to the need and wish of the Prime
Ministers and their chairmanship can be delegated
to a Deputy Prime Minister or to a
member of the Royal Government. Their decisions
do not bind the government as a whole
but only on the well defined matters.
The Prime Ministers, through their regulatory
authority., execute all decisions adopted by
the Council of Ministers. They presented the
Decrees (Kret) to the King for his signature.
They can also exercise their own regulatory
authority by way of Sub-decree (Anu-kret),
after the approval of the Council of Ministers,
or by way of Decisions and Circulars. All
regulatory acts, whether from the Royal
Government or from a ministry, are published
in the Official Gazette once they are signed.
The Prime Ministers can lead the negotiations
of treaties., international conventions, economic,
technical, cultural, and defense cooperation.
The ratification and promulgation of
these treaties and conventions will be done by
the King after approval by the National
Assembly.
The Prime Ministers can present for nomination
by the King by way of a Royal Decree
(Reach-Kret) the following high ranking civilian
and military officials: members of the
Royal Government; Governor and Deputy
Governor of the National Bank of Cambodia,
Under Secretaries of State; Advisors to the
Royal Government and to the Prime
Ministers; Secretary Generals of the Royal
Government; Secretary Generals and Director
Generals of ministries, Delegates of the Royal
Government; Governors of provinces and
municipalities; Ambassadors; Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary Envoys; Military Chief of
Staff, and Generals. They can appoint with a
Sub-decree (Anu-Kret) other high ranking
civilian, military and foreign service officials,
Deputy Governors of provinces and municipalities,
Chiefs of District (Srok) and urban
divisions (Khan).
ORGANIZATION OF THE ADMINISTRATION
Two articles only announce
the division of the
national territory into
provinces and municipalities. The provinces
(Khet) are subdivided into districts (Srok)l and
districts into communes (Khum). The municipalities
are subdivided into sections (Khan),
and sections into quarters (Sangkat).
Administratively,. the country comprises 20
provinces and two municipalities (Phnom
Penh, Sihanoukville). The provincial administration
is headed by a governor, assisted by
two or three deputy governors, one of whom
is in charge of agriculture. Provinces and
municipalities are divided into districts (172),
which have their own administrative staff
and district-level ministry staff. The average
population per district is about 50,000 people.
Districts are further sub-divided into 1,400
communes,, with a total 6f about 11,700 villages
(Phum) . While funds were provided by
the central Government to pay salaries of
public servants in the provincial administration
provincial taxes were collected and held
in the provincial treasury at the disposal of
the governor. The resulting misallocation of
resources and loss of technical control by the
central ministries have been a concern of the
new Government. In a recent major political
move, governors have been replaced in a
number of provinces and in late December
1993, the National Assembly passed a new
Financial Structure Law which strips provincial
authorities (as well as central ministries
and powerful individuals) of the right to
collect taxes independently.