Kampot is due to have a new governor after just over a year and a half under current Governor Chan Chesda, according to a royal decree signed on Tuesday.
The decree appoints Cheav Tay as the new governor, and indicates Chesda is to transfer to the Ministry of Agriculture. Chesda was tapped for the governorship in March 2016 after holding the office of deputy governor for one week. He was previously director of the provincial Department of Agriculture.
Chesda yesterday said to “wait until the official transfer ceremony happens; I don’t know yet where I will be sent to”, before hanging up the phone.
Provincial administrative chief Sim Vuthea said Interior Minister Sar Kheng would oversee the transfer ceremony on Friday.
However, a former high-ranking official in the provincial government, speaking anonymously, said Chesda’s rapid rise and seeming inexperience had ruffled feathers.
“The people working there for a long time and who are also competent were not happy with it,” he said, noting that he didn’t know whether those concerns factored into the decision to end his governorship.
Tay yesterday noted his 11 years’ experience in provincial government in Kandal, where he is deputy governor.
“I will serve the nation and the people; that is it,” he said.
