A man loaded up to the brim with an assortment of vegetables looks on intently as he squeezes through the mayhem at Neak Meas market in Tuol Kork district’s Phsar Doeum Kor commune. Heng Chivoan
The Ministry of Rural Development has announced that it will focus on four areas to improve the livelihoods of people in rural areas. These are the continued construction of roads, the creation of jobs, enhanced human resources and the promotion of health.
The ministry outlined its goals for this year, while its 2018 report showed that with its 2014-2018 strategic plan, the government brought about positive impacts to the lives of those in rural areas, such as the access to healthcare and sanitation, and other public services.
But rural Cambodia still had problems to overcome, including a rapid increase in the demand for roads, increased migration and the overloading of transport, while it also faced sanitation and climate issues.
To tackle these problems, the Ministry of Rural Development has issued four prioritised goals to be implemented over five years from 2019-2023.
The first is the strengthening of institutions via capacity building and enhanced human resources.
This will promote good governance and sustainable development to effectively carry out reforms in public administration, public financial management and decentralisation and deconcentralisation.
Second is an increase in the construction and renovation of essential infrastructure and public services, particularly in areas of economic potential.
The promotion of health, education and hygiene is to be pushed, as are jobs and careers. The Ministry of Rural Development plans to create a mobile vocational training centre to move from village to village.
The report says that last year, to tackle health-related problems, the ministry helped build 41,989 toilets in private houses, 58 public toilets and 12,975 washing basins.
Yon Sarom, Mondulkiri provincial rural development department director, said his department had focused mainly on road construction, the supply of clean water and installing toilets for rural people.
“We have clean water, irrigation systems and roads, and while it is not 100 per cent, we now have roads leading everywhere. At the local level, roads are everywhere,” he said.
The report sets 2025 as the target for when all people will have access to clean water and sanitation.
Ouk Rabun, Minister of Rural Development, and ministry spokesman Chan Darong could not be reached by The Post for comment.
