Day: February 1, 2024

The 4th Capital, Provincial, Municipal, District and Khan Council Election will take place on Sunday, May 26, 2024. The update was shared by H.E. Chi Chamnan, Vice President of the National Election Committee (NEC), in a dissemination meeting with stakeholders in Phnom Penh on Jan. 31. H.E. Chi Chamnan called on political parties, concerned authorities, and stakeholders to exercise their respective roles and duties to ensure a smooth and successful election. The council election is a proportional, non-universal election in which members of the commune and Sangkat councils are voters for two councils, including the capital, provincial council; and municipal, district, and Khan council. There are 1,652 communes and 209 municipalities, districts, and khans for the election, he added. There are in total 11,622 voters who are members of the commune and Sangkat council, and there are 559 seats for members of the capital and provincial council and 3,641 seats for municipal, district, and khan council. Source : Agence Kampuchea Presse

Hanoi: Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on February 1 signed a decision regarding the allocation of rice from the national reserve to localities for the 2024 Lunar New Year festival and the between-crop period. He assigned the Ministry of Finance (MoF) to distribute a total of 431.9 tonnes of rice at no cost to the provinces of Ha Giang, Bac Kan and Kon Tum. Ha Giang will receive 253.62 tonnes, Bac Kan - 31,605 tonnes, and Kon Tum - 76.86 tonnes for distribution to locals during Tet. An additional 69.87 tonnes will be given to residents of Kon Tum for the between-crop period. The authorities of Ha Giang, Bac Kan and Kon Tum are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of reporting data and delivering the timely rice aid to eligible recipients in line with regulations./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Nearly 7.5 million trade union members and workers across Vietnam have received support to have a better Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, according to reports by 74 out of 82 localities and units nationwide. The support was worth over 4.24 trillion VND (173.7 million USD) in total, including nearly 1.8 trillion VND from non-State sources. According to the VGCL, on the occasion of Tet 2024, the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) and trade unions at all levels coordinated with the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and agencies to assist 248 delegations from the Party, the State, the National Assembly, and the Government to deliver Tet gifts to 32,200 workers. Trade unions at all levels have organised 14,664 Tet programmes, attracting over 3 million members and workers. More than 1.8 million trade union members and workers received gifts worth over 1 trillion VND at the programmes. According to VGCL Vice Chairman Phan Van Anh, diverse activities were organised for workers including f ive-fruit tray displays, chung cake-making competitions, lucky draws, folk games, legal advice, zero-dong booths, and cultural and art activities. In addition, localities, units and organisations offered scholarships to workers' children, and disadvantaged children. Workers who work far from home were given free travel tickets to return home for the Tet celebration. More than 162,800 trade union members and workers were given train/bus/plane ticket support worth nearly 76 billion VND. Trade unions at all levels organised and coordinated with agencies, units and employers to provide 3,382 free bus trips to bring over 112,000 workers to their hometowns./. Source: Vietnam News Agency VERIFY.GOV.KH-the Cambodian Government's document verification platform developed by Cambodia's Ministry of Post and Telecommunications (MPTC)-wins a Gold Medal in the ASEAN Digital Awards 2024 hosted in Singapore under the auspices of the 4th ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN) on Feb. 1. The 4th ADGMIN is attended by Digital Ministers from ASEAN Member States; Timor-Leste; ASEAN partners including, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan, India, and the United States; as well as the International Telecommunications Union. According to an MPTC's press release issued this evening, in this year's edition of the ASEAN Digital Awards, 125 top-performing digital products, services, and programmes from the 10 AMS have been submitted for consideration. Through multiple rounds of elimination, VERIFY.GOV.KH-as the government's official platform for document verification-has been selected as Cambodia's submission for the Public Sector category and has made its way through to the final round. After the final presen tation against other finalists, VERIFY.GOV.KH wins the Gold Medal in the Public Sector Category, officially being recognised as the most distinguished digital solution for delivering public services in ASEAN for 2024. 'This is the first time a Cambodian solution has received the Gold Medal in the Public Sector category of the ASEAN Digital Awards. This award is testament to the fruitful labour of MPTC and the Digital Government Committee (DGC) in developing digital solutions for better public service delivery, for our product has evidently received not only domestic recognition, but also regional recognition as the most outstanding public sector digital solution in ASEAN,' said delightfully H.E. CHEA Vandeth, Minister of Post and Telecommunications and President of DGC. 'This success demonstrates more clearly that VERIFY.GOV.KH's scope should be expanded not only within Cambodia, but also in the region - particularly as a collective mechanism for cross-border document verification among AMSs for verificatio n of trade documents and other official documents, rendering paper originals and notarization of copies no longer necessary. Such collective action will bring ASEAN Member States another step closer to our collective aspiration of unleashing the potential of digital technologies, and MPTC is committed to contribute to this collective journey,' he continued. The ASEAN Digital Awards has 6 categories: (1) Public Sector, (2) Private Sector, (3) Digital Inclusivity, (4) Digital Content, (5) Digital Start-Up, and (6) Digital Innovation, said the press release, adding that in the Public Sector category this year, Thailand's digital health data system won Silver, and Singapore's Digital Birth and Death Certificate initiative won Bronze. Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Hanoi: The Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena convened its 25th meeting in Hanoi on February 1. The committee acknowledged the drastic efforts in combating corruption and negative phenomena throughout the previous year. Comprehensive results were achieved at both central and local levels, contributing significantly to Party building and rectification, political stability, socio-economic development, and strengthening public trust. Party committees and inspection commissions at all levels imposed disciplinary measures against 606 Party organisations and 24,162 Party members, up 12% from 2022. The Party Central Committee and its Inspection Commission, the Politburo and the Secretariat disciplined 19 officials under the management of the Politburo and the Secretariat, of whom six were disciplined for violations related to asset and income declaration for the first time. Since the term-beginning of the 13th National Party Congress, disciplinary actions ha ve been taken against 105 officials under the management of the Party Central Committee, including 22 members and former members of the Party Central Committee. Two-thirds of the disciplined Party members were penalised for misconduct during the previous term. Inspections and audits led to recommendations for handling financial matters amounting to nearly 219 trillion VND (1.2 billion USD), nearly tripling the figure from 2022. Administrative fines were proposed on 7,524 collectives and 7,944 individuals. Moreover, 660 cases showing signs of criminal offenses were transferred to investigation police agencies for legal proceedings, marking an annual increase compared to 2022. Throughout the year, legal proceedings were initiated against 4,523 cases involving 9,373 defendants nationwide, reflecting a yearly rise of 46% in cases related to corruption, economic crimes, and abuse of power. Notably, 13 new cases involving 54 defendants fell under the oversight of the steering committee. Assets worth over 234 tril lion VND were confiscated, sealed and reclaimed. Looking ahead, the steering committee will promulgate and enforce regulations concerning the moral standards of officials and Party members in the new period. Party committees, organisations, and competent agencies will continue refining institutions and laws related to socio-economic management, prevention and control of corruption and negative phenomena. A review of the five-year implementation of the Anti-Corruption Law 2018 and the Politburo's Directive on strengthening the Party leadership in protecting whistleblowers and those combating corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena will also be conducted. They were assigned to adopt more concerted and effective measures in the inspection, supervision and auditing of sectors prone to corruption and negative phenomena. Conclusions related to wrongdoings at 34 cases under the purview of the steering committee, especially at Viet A and AIC companies, Van Thinh Phat Group and SCB Bank must be promptly iss ued. At the meeting, the steering committee decided to add two cases to its watch list. The first involves violations of regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources, accounting irregularities leading to severe consequences, and smuggling at Thai Duong Group JSC and Rare Earth Vietnam JSC, and related units. The second pertains to abuse of positions and power while performing official duties at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and in various localities./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS) on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Implementation of the Project on Embedding Financial Literacy into School Curriculum Phase III. Entering the third phase of its kind, the project is the final project that will last for three years from 2024 to 2026. It is designed to be implemented in grade 5 to 12 as well as teacher training. This partnership reflects the joint commitment and endeavour in training crucial financial skills, helping students in making right decisions in the financial sector, said NBC Governor H.E Mrs. Chea Serey. 'Embedding financial literacy to the general education programme is a strategy which will build the spirit of responsibility, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills which are valuable advantages to individuals' success,' she underlined. Financial literacy is a combination of the awareness, knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviour necessary to make sound financia l decisions and ultimately achieve individual financial wellbeing. This is a long-term investment due to not only individuals making the right financial decision, but also contributing to the well-being and stability of society, she added. With the purpose of long-term financial literacy development, NBC and MoEYS entered into cooperation in 2017 to embed financial literacy in school curriculum from grade 1 to grade 12. The first phase of the project was officially kicked off in 2017, while the second phase started two years later. Financial inclusion plays an important role in providing formal financial service to people and businesses as well as reducing and boosting Cambodia's economic growth, according to the NBC's latest report issued early this week. Banking and financial institutions have continued to improve the financial inclusion, which is reflected in the increase in the number of customer deposit accounts to 18.9 million and consumer credit accounts to 3.9 million, pointed out the NBC. Sour ce: Agence Kampuchea Presse

Hanoi: Permanent Vice Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Nguyen Thi Tuyen on February 1 paid a visit to the Patronage Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) and Tran Quoc pagoda in Tay Ho district on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet). Tuyen extended her Tet wishes to dignitaries, monks, nuns and Buddhist followers of the VBS Patronage Council and Tran Quoc pagoda. She expressed her hope that the dignitaries, monks, nuns and Buddhists continue accompanying the city to help it more civilized and modern. Venerable Thich Nguyen Chinh said he hopes to receive more attention from the city's administration to Buddhist activities of the VBS at all levels, Tay Ho district as well as Tran Quoc pagoda./. Source: Vietnam News Agency