Chhay Rithisen, Minister of Rural Development, on May 6, 2024, chaired a meeting to review data on rural water supply.
The meeting was attended by the Permanent Secretary of State, the Secretary of State, the Undersecretary of State, the Deputy Director General, and the Deputy Director General of the Department of Expertise and Capital-Provincial Department of Rural Development through a virtual system (Zoom meeting).
The Minister thanked leaders and 25 Departments of Rural Development for monitoring drinking water conditions and addressing people who have lacked water in the past. They also addressed water shortages and climate change by repairing and drilling new wells, in line with Prime Minister Hun Manet’s guidelines and the Ministry of Rural Development’s climate change interventions.
The meeting focused on the data collection of rural water supply systems across the country, including wells, aphrodite ponds, community ponds, community drinking water stations, rainwater catchment systems, and water distribution systems through a micro-community network, to map out rural water supply systems throughout the country.
At the same time, the Minister also mentioned the provision of public services to the people in requesting the means of rural water supply and checking the water quality for people to drink and use daily.
At the end of the meeting, the Minister made some recommendations to the management as well as the Department of Rural Development to implement the following:
1. To continue to implement and inspect water sources in remote villages and communes that do not yet have safe drinking water and to carry out this activity regularly.
2. To collect water source data by village, commune, or district to enter clean water data into a computer system.
3. Need to prepare a strategic plan to get clean water for 100% use by 2030.
4. Continue to find development partners, philanthropists, and international organisations to help develop and expand rural water supplies.
5. To request the Capital and Provincial Departments of Rural Development to cooperate with relevant institutions or sign cooperation agreements and to cooperate with local authorities in providing public services to the people quickly and efficiently.
