Government will continue providing money to poor families

https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50984419/government-will-continue-providing-money-to-poor-families/

Prime Minister Hun Sen said that the government spends some $50 million every month to support poor families despite the difficulties bought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the National Road Number 11 on Monday at Prey Veng province, Mr Hun Sen said that the expenditure incurred on the Covid-19 response programme has put pressure on the government budget as it had initially allocated the money for building infrastructures in the country.

Some 700,000 families comprising three million people have benefited from the programme, he said, citing that workers in garment sectors and tourism sectors also benefited.

“Despite the difficult time, the government will not reduce the social programme to help people,” he added.

The government is providing cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households, wage subsidies, low-interest loans and tax relief for businesses in hard-hit sectors, a cash-for-work programme in rural areas and support to small and medium-sized enterprises.

“I would declare new infrastructure projects for development if the Covid-19 had not taken away the government budget,” said Mr Hun Sen.

The budget spent for combating Covid-19 including vaccines, Covid-19 tests, treatment and the social programme to help people who were hard-hit by Covid-19 was about $2,300 million, he said, adding that the amount spent could have been used for building at least 20 bridges.

The government has set targets and put in place a number of measures  to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic which includes the cost of improving the living standards of the poor, and spending to help investors, small and medium enterprises, rural development and agriculture.