THE National Assembly is set to confirm the appointments of 11 senior government officials this week, parliamentarians said Tuesday.

Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) lawmaker Cheam Yeap said Chhieng Yanara, formerly the secretary general of the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board, will officially be promoted on Thursday to the position of delegate attaché to Prime Minister Hun Sen. This position will entail working closely with the prime minister on investment projects.

Cheam Yeap added that 10 other officials had been tapped by Hun Sen to become secretaries of state at various ministries.

These include Hang Chuon Naron and Ngy Tayi at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Tom Sambo at the Ministry of Defence and Thea Kruy at the Ministry of Health, he said.

“Based on what I’ve seen of their backgrounds, they have enough ability,” Cheam Yeap said. “Samdech [Hun Sen] chose them, so they will be a significant force in strengthening the government.”

Human Rights Party president Kem Sokha said he would vote against the officials up for promotions on Thursday, arguing that the government was already overstaffed. “The effectiveness of our government depends on quality, not quantity,” he said Tuesday. He added that a ballooning civil service could further strain the national budget.

A 2004 UN study on public administration in Cambodia concluded that the Kingdom’s civil service sector is “about average” in terms of size and cost compared with other low- and middle-income countries.