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(1) Top goals for human resource are health, ability, and livelihood
Developing a policy that focuses on the social protection system is not a random task, but the evidence of the attention of the Royal Government – whether it is the government of Cambodia or any other country – would take the people as their main target. If we talk about people, the top goals are health, ability, and livelihood. All of these are important tasks that we need to ensure that our country has ample human resource to participate in sustainable economic development. That is why the Pentagonal Strategy – Phase I focuses on these priorities […]
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(2) 7.5 million people have been covered by the social protection system
As stated in the report of (the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance) HE Akka Bundit Sapheacha (the number of people covered by the social protection system has) increased from 3.3 million to 7.5 million […] this illustrates a tangible impact on the ground […] our social protection system does not mean a system that the state has to spend to ensure sustainability […] we have offered healthcare and vocational training to support people regarding health, to gain knowledge and skills, and to be able to find work. It does not mean that the state pays 100% […] but an increase in the social protection safety net, sustainable work system, both for those who can afford and those who cannot afford it […]
According to HE Akka Bundit Sapheacha’s report, the social protection system exists from birth, not just when they start working. Cash support has been provided for pregnant women from the time they are pregnant and until their child is 2 years old […] even those in prison, because it is a right (women also receive the social support). It is the mother who makes mistakes and must accept (responsibility before) the law, but we must be responsible to ensure the rights to the children […] this is a practical way to ensure the well-being, health, and success of our citizens, who are the most important national assets […]
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(3) Provide social support to help people in difficult times and to make them strong
Those who have the potential to succeed, we will facilitate them to be more successful, and those who lack the potential, the state will help them to succeed. This is the progress of the nation, which we use the word “poverty reduction”. The word poverty reduction does not mean removing the poor, but reducing poverty from a high to a low rate […] when the first equity card was issued, for example, some houses were identified poor, but a few years later, their economic situation changed positively […] however, we had not yet updated their status (and even the policies). Later, we adjusted it. Now, we are organizing the system and making assessments, according to requests. Our task is not to provide social support so that people will remain poor forever, or create dependence on the government, but to help them in difficult times, to make them strong, when they need urgent help […]
(4) People get treatment without paying money but also training and improving ability to find a job to earn an income
The organization of this social protection system, in the report of HE Akka Bundit Sapheacha, is not only about helping the people get treatment, without paying money, but also training, including improving the ability to find a job to earn an income. This is the fruit of poverty reduction. Where did the poor go then? After the implementation of the win-win politics in 2000, we had registered about 30% or 40%. Later, the poverty rate dropped to below 10%, and surged somewhat after COVID-19. Now we are trying to pull it back up […] it is not that the poor have run away or that we stopped counting them as citizens, but rather that they have transformed difficult situations where they lacked things to one in which they could have an average income, and some of them could reach a prosperous life […]
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(5) Ensure quality health benefit for people and no one is left untaken care of
This work (of ensuring all citizens, including citizens using the Equity Card, the Vulnerable Card, and the Social Security Card, receiving essential health services in a timely manner to avoid gaps that can have negative consequences) as is said by HE Akka Bundit Sapheacha about the value of social protection programs, it does not rely on data or the amount of money we spent. Firstly, the real value is that citizens benefit. So, considering the quality of services is a necessary task […] namely, treatment with good medicine, equipment, and facilities, through strengthening health centers, district referral doctors who are the leading actors in the provinces, plus the responsibility of partners in the private sector and public hospitals […]; and secondly, strengthen the code of ethics so that there is no case that the holders of the Social Security Card seeking (services are) left untaken care of […] public hospitals must provide services equitably. Private partners must follow the approach and professional code of ethics, both for those with money or without money, those who pay money, those uses Social Security Cards, or those holding the Equity Card […]
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(6) Relevant actors adhere to the code of ethics, transparency and proper conduct to ensure sustainable assistance to people
(Regarding the benefits of the National Social Assistance Program of the Royal Government,) the task of strengthening governance is important, as it means strengthening the honesty and implementation of all actors […] I urge service providing actors, both state and private, partners, to participate with certainty. This (operation uses) national budget to help the people. So, it must be implemented with the necessary transparency and accuracy. There should not be the case that while there was no treatment and the payment was made […] and if any operation or any partner does not implement it accordingly, strict measures will be taken. We must recognize that every dollar is for a person, for a woman, for a child, for our citizens […] I call on relevant actors to adhere to the code of ethics, transparency and proper conduct to ensure sustainable assistance to the people […]
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(7) Timely and accurate payment to ensure continued service provision
While demanding that service providers be held accountable, the state must also be held accountable to the institution, especially the timely and accurate payment of funds, so that the flow of funds can be ensured (to continued service provision) […] if we want private health service providers to be partners in providing good and timely services, we must create favorable condition and, most importantly, ensure that payments are made quickly and accurately. All of us must fulfill our roles. Those who provide service are to do so accurately, without discrimination, and the state must ensure that we are partners, and resolve related issues, so that the process would not be obstructed […] together, we help our citizens receive good services, because of which they have trust and warmth […]
(8) Population growth, raising salaries for civil servants, social assistance – some of the reasons for bigger national budget
When we presented the budget plan the other day, there was an attack on spending and revenue blaming that the state ran out of money and spending was getting bigger. Why is the national budget getting bigger? (We have) population growth that improving people’s lives is necessary, raising salaries for civil servants, but to be honest, the biggest increase is due to social assistance, because the number of citizens has increased by millions and needs more assistance. The increased budget is not for buying warships or fighter jets, but falls on the citizens themselves, on civil servants, the armed forces, through salary increases, and important investments in infrastructure […]
Why is the revenue decreasing? Firstly, our economy is not the same as before COVID-19. If we compare it to before, it is decreasing. Secondly, during this phase, we have implemented relief measures such as tax breaks, etc., for citizens or the private sector. Even private universities are asking for relief. We have given a lot to the agricultural sector. In the tourism sector, we leave the revenue to the citizens. Asking, has the state lost its control? That is not the case […] not only that the state has not run out of money to guarantee current expenses compared to 2024, but the state has been able to increase the salaries of civil servants and the budget to help people through the social protection system […]
(9) Staff recruitment allowed for health and education, some frameworks allowed for national defense and security only to fill in for retired officials
The state is willing to reduce the income from VISA to help facilitate the tourism sector […] we have introduced policies that in some places we do not charge taxes for some years, like we did for the export of sawn stone (granite business). We are willing to reduce taxes to zero […] That the national budget has become smaller and spending is increasing is not because of poor management or corruption. We have (expenditure rules) […] for instance in recuiting government officials, last year and this year, we give priority only to important sectors, such as health and education. For other ministries and institutions, we have reduced a lot […] we have provided some frameworks for the sectors of national defense, national security, and the police to fill in for retired officials […] as for the budget to help citizens like to help pregnant women, we do not reduce […]
(10) RGC’s approach to manage national budget spending to prioritize health and well-being of the people
I had to make decisions on three requests. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport asked for a road section to be built worth about 50 million dollars. At the same time, the Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation requested a budget of 60 million dollars to build a clean water system for the people. The Ministry of Health asked for nearly 20 million dollars to increase the capacity of level 2 referral hospitals in 61 districts for emergency surgery. Added together, the three requests come to 130 million dollars […] of these three, I decided to hold the request of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport at this time […] as it is more urgent, firstly, to increase the capacity of district referral hospitals to be able to perform emergency surgery at the district level […] and secondly, clean water must be available to reduce diseases that affect the health of the people […] and thirdly, about the 20 kilometers or so roads, we can do some repair […] this is the approach of the Royal Government to manage national budget spending, which is to prioritize the health and well-being of the people […]
(11) Health, life and welbeing – we did it, we have done it, definitely we will do it
The health, life and well-being of the people remain the top priority of the Royal Government. We are not just talking, as many calimed that we only talk theories. We did it and we are talking about what we have done, definitely not what we will do. The announcement of “Social Protection Week” did not say “we will start doing it”. There have already been 7.5 million beneficiaries since 2017 […] between those who talk and those who actually do the job, I think you should continue to keep talking. And those who do the job can continue to work in the direction of serving and providing real services to the people […] we must show the truth and tangible results to the people […] and for the sustainability of the policy. We have a change of leadership from Samdech Techo to me, but we are one polictical party and one policy. We have to ensure the Party’s policy sustainability. If it was another party that leads, I would not be sure if they would continue this policy […]
(12) CPP will lead the country for a long time because it does real work for the people
We believe that the Cambodian People’s Party will continue to lead for a long time because we are doing real work for the people. Why does the government talk about the party? The government in every country is led by a party. The government leads and implements the party’s policies that were promised to the people before the election. As long as the Cambodian People’s Party continues to lead, this long-term policy will continue to be implemented, with a roadmap, a clear implementation mechanism, and no instability or change, or canceling the direction. I am calling on you the people to trust the Cambodian People’s Party-led government that will continue to promote this social protection program to continue to strengthen the support of the people […]
(13) whether a country is small or large, without political stability, nothing will work
Between 2017 and 2025 (the beneficiaries of the social protection program) increased from 3.3 million to 7.5 million. We have a goal of universal coverage that every citizen in Cambodia in the future, where, under the leadership and implementation of this policy, they will have access to some form of protection. This is the vision. Political stability is important. Any country, whether small or large, without political stability, nothing will work […] whether the policy is good or bad, if the country rule is overturned, it will not work […] the sustainability of the policy that we have put in place for 2024-2035 – a span of 11 years is to ensure the expansion of health services in the long term […] the social protection system is not for use when you are healthy, it is for use when you are sick, when you have an accident at work […] this social protection system will help offset the national budget because we have contributions from some private sectors … and for some members of the social protection system, the state pays all at once […]./.