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Keynote Address at the Inauguration of the New Office
Building of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth
Rehabilitation
Phnom Penh, November 29,
2010
- Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished National and International Guests,
- Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
- Dear
Civil Servants!
It is my pleasure and honor to be here to officially
inaugurate “the New Office Building of the Ministry of Social
Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation” at this moment. I
would like to congratulate the management and all officials of the
Ministry on the reception of this new building. I believe it will
facilitate your everyday jobs that will result in better efficiency and
effectiveness.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to praise the
management and all officials of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans
and Youth Rehabilitation for the effective and close collaboration with
related ministries/institutions, local authorities, inter-ministerial
committees, Vina Hong Kong Company and Rotana Cooperation for the construction of this project. This achievement reflects the firm
support of the Ministry’s management and officials in implementing the
Royal Government’s Rectangular Strategy-Phase II that aims at
enhancing growth, employment, equity, and efficiency. In this connection, I would like to encourage the
Ministry’s management and officials to capitalize on the new building
and work harder for the cause of social welfare, veterans and youth
rehabilitation.
As raised by H.E. Ith Samheng, the Minister of
Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, the new Ministry’s
office building, which was ex-location of the national infant complex
and inter-country infant adoption buildings, is built by the two
companies in exchange of the old location. In general, this project,
among many others, really responds to the given exchange opportunity
that is “ a horse for a horse” while the Royal Government needs
the financial resources for prioritized sectors, especially the
infrastructure sector including roads, bridges, irrigation systems,
schools, hospitals and so forth. Moreover, the exchange, that was made
when the real estate prices rose, allows us to mobilize resources from
the private sector to realize this new achievement. The new building is
indeed another historic achievement of the social sector. This
achievement, in addition to the Royal Government’s Friendship and Peace
Building which was auspiciously inaugurated by HIS MAJESTY THE KING
NORODOM SIHAMONI OF THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA, and new buildings of
other ministries/institutions, is another outcome of the Rectangular
Strategy-Phase II. This is a national treasure that will be used to
serve the public interests for a very long future.
Since its inception, this is the largest ever building of
the Ministry. From 1979 to 1983, the Ministry was located at building
No. 28, Preah Thom Lekhet Ouk Blvd (Street 184), Chey Chumneas Commune,
Khan Doun Penh. From 1983 to 2000, we moved the Ministry’s office to
building No. 68, Preah Norodom Blvd, opposite to Sisowath highschool.
Since 2000 onwards, the Ministry’s office building has been located at
the present location, an ex-prison during the Pol Pot regime. After
1979, this location was used as a military base and then transferred to
the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1992 to be used as a vocational
training center.
According to the history of this Ministry as well as its
office building over the last 50 years, we can see that the social
affair sector has taken root in all regimes. In particular, after
January 7, 1979, adding to its effort to prevent the return of the Khmer
Rouge, the then government of the People’s Republic of Kampuchea
mobilized resources to rescue millions of people from starvation and
help restore their livelihoods. However, thanks to the right policy
coupled with support from friend countries such as Vietnam, Lao, Russia,
East Europe, some international organizations helped Cambodia get over
hardest period without leaving any person dies of disaster.
As result, for
over 30 years since 7th January 1979 till today, social affairs,
veterans and youth rehabilitation sector has been carefully bolstered
and been taken as priority sector of society. Standing on this
foundation, Cambodia is making active step forwards with confidence and
reality including institutional and human resource development, and
further strengthened ownership. In that, we can see through economic
growth over the past was very high due to the fact that a number of
sectors such as agriculture, industry, tourism, construction, and
infrastructure development etc. had experienced huge progress.
Separately, social affair sector, education, health care, rural
development, gender equity, child welfare, people with disability,
veterans, the retired, the old people have been given priorities through
annually increased state budget. Within that, implementation of
Cambodian Millennium Development Goals was evaluated to be successful.
Indeed, GDP per capita has reached USD 792 per year. Poverty rate also
has been reduced from 100% in 1979 to 30% in 2008 and continues to
decrease at the rate of over 1% per annum. Through this, even though
Cambodia is under effect of global economic and financial crisis,
Cambodia could overcome successfully those implications. For that, the
government provided capital investment for increasing agricultural
production, ensuring food security , providing preferential treatment
for garment industry to stabilize employment for workers, providing
vocational training service and create new job for the laid-off workers,
and implement social rescue programme for the poor vulnerable...etc...
Moreover, the Royal Government always pays attention to
increasing intervention into social affairs, veterans and youth
rehabilitation sector with objective to enhance job opportunity, to
reduce vulnerability of the poor, increase emergency rescue for victims
of natural other disasters and expanding employability enhancement
program for people with disabilities. For that, the government
constantly provide support to disabled people, veteran families and the
veterans who sacrifice lives for the nation as well as program to raise
welfare of the old people, children, victimized women, and vagabond…etc…
At the same time, the Royal Government is strongly committed to create
and implement a social security system that is comprehensive and
sustainable aiming at safeguard livelihood of the poor and the
vulnerable.
Obviously, although we have made such prideful
achievements, we must acknowledge that we still face many duties and
tasks that we have to jointly solve and responded timely to the need of
our people and society. In this spirit, the government is firmly
determined and provides all kinds of support to make social affair
sector capable with full and adequate capacity to clear all concerns
aiming at promoting social safety net for our people. In this
connection, I would like to provide a number of additional
recommendations to the management and officials of ministry of social
affair, veterans, and youth rehabilitation with objectives to enhance
and make stride with confidence and ownership.
1. Must continue expanding social welfare services for the poor and
vulnerable aiming at preventing and getting rid of misery by not leaving
anyone to death without our acknowledgement and intervention. Through
this, we can reduce and prevent vulnerability of our people and prepare
our people for restoring livelihood and integrating into society and
gain regular life according to local development.
2. Must continue strengthening and expanding child welfare service by
mainly concentrating on implementing 4 child basic rights, right to
live, right to education, right to protection and right to participation
in conformity to constitution and international convention on child
right. In that, we must pay attention to help orphans, children with
disability and children from poor family. At the same time, I would like
to tell our compatriots and beloved children that in response to request
from children through National Council for Children of Cambodia, on
behalf of the government and as honorary chairman of National Council
for Children of Cambodia, in principal I have decided to create Cambodian Children Day in line with International Children
Day 1st June and allow government official, workers,
employees to have a day off again from 2011 on to celebrate Right Day
for Children whom we consider children as the future of our nation.
3. Must keep promoting youth rehabilitation by making effort to prevent
vice activities among children and teen such as violence, unlawful
action, drug usage that is very danger to society. Therefore, all
private and public education institutions and NGOs must promote good-3 movement for children i.e. good child, good student and
good friend in order to strengthen moral and cleanness among
children and teens.
4. Must strengthen and expand the welfare service of the handicapped and
rehabilitate their labor ability according to the national policy for
the handicapped. In that regard, we have to promote the protection and
enhancement of the rights of the handicapped, to reduce and to eliminate
discrimination against them by having them integrated into the society
without any obstacles based on the International Convention on disabled
people. Along with that, the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and
Youth Rehabilitation must continue law enforcement and other legal
documents related to the protection and promotion of handicapped
rights.
5. Must strengthen and expand
the elder welfare sector by providing supporting services to the elder
people, especially the old poor people who no have dependence according
to the spirit of International Elderly Day 1 October that is annually
organized. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth
Rehabilitation must strengthen and help the National Committee for
Organizing the International Elderly Day, which is the inter-ministry
mechanism to consult, organize and implement policies for the elder. I
have always provided annual recommendations through my letters on behalf
of the Royal Government during the occasion of International Elderly Day
1 October. Moreover, I would like to request you all to promote the
good social tradition, the respect and gratitude and care of the
elderly, who are parents, grandparents in families, and the respect of
the old people in the localities, pagodas, Buddhism, Muslim or
Christianity.
6. Must continue to implement
the social security scheme for the civil servants according to the Royal
Decree on Social Security Scheme for the Civil Servants and the
Sub-decree on the Creation of the National Treasury for Social Security
for Civil Servants. We have to promote the process of National Treasury
for Social Security for Civil Servants, created since 2008.
7. Must enlarge and strengthen
the sector of ex-soldiers by continuing to implement the national policy
against ex-soldiers in response to the noble gratitude of our
ex-soldiers for the nation. We have to regard the ex-soldiers as the
symbol of loyal nationalism through their sacrifice acts for the
nation. In this connection, the sound implementation of the policy for
the ex-soldiers is the contribution to inspire nationalism, sacrifice
for the nation and people that is the excellent tradition of our
people. Along with that, we have to take every measure in order to
compensate their heroism at the most suitable level. I would also like
to appreciate the inter-ministerial committee that has defined identity
of the armed forces and families until achieving the 2010 plan,
consisting of 3000 families of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces and
10000 families of the national police, and these people have been
continuously sent to the National Committee for Social Land Concession.
In this spirit, I agree with the request made by the Committee for
Identification, who has requested to maintain the 4 year plan 2010-2013
in identifying 23000 families in which the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces
are 15000 families and national police are 5500 families, and
ex-soldiers of 300 families. But, the result of land concession
provision will be implemented based on the budget ability of each year,
and the remaining amount will be moved to next year.
8. Must promote the preparation
of comprehensive social security scheme for the people in the Kingdom of
Cambodia according to the Rectangular Strategy of the Royal Government.
We have to quickly create law on social security for the Kingdom of
Cambodia. Through this law, Cambodia will be able to create the social
safety net which is more comprehensive.
9. Must continue partnership
with the national and international non-governmental organizations in
order to enlarge the spirit of solidarity in the society, attract
financial, material, technical sources to serve the request of the
social works and assist the vulnerable people. For the time being,
there are 186 international and non-governmental organizations who are
partners of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth
Rehabilitation, in which there is the budget of USD 36 million,
available for implementing the plan of action annually. In this regard,
the Royal Government considers the contribution of various organizations
truly important for the cause of humanitarian and social affairs.
10. Must strengthen the action
of the committee for solving the strike, demonstration in all signals
and the professional communication working groups who are the dialogue
partners with the private sector, syndicate, international labor
organization and other organizations by working as an agency of the
Royal Government in coordinating, solving the working conflicts with the
objective to increase social harmonization as well as the policy to
protect rights and freedom of the syndicate, employers, and related
parties according to the international convention and laws that are in
effect.
11. Must continue to build
institutional capacity, human resources, spirit of responsibility,
professional conscience of officials in all levels in order to response
to the obligations in this new stage. We have to comprehensively
implement the reform agenda in all sectors according to the policy of
the Royal Government in order to increase efficiency of social service
delivery. In this context, the social affairs workers in all levels
must abide by their roles as agency of the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, who are attached to the people,
receiving services. If we have well implemented, it will bring about
the betterment of the policy of the Royal Government.
At the end, together with the official inauguration of the “Office
Building of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth
Rehabilitation” now, I would like to wish Excellencies, Ladies
and Gentlemen, National and International Distinguished Guests and all
Civil Servants the four gems of Buddhist blessing: Longevity, Nobility, Health and Strength.
EndITem
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