A mooted cabinet reshuffle will take place when the National Assembly meets in the first week of April, Prime Minister Hun Sen announced yesterday, although details of the change-up remain closely guarded.

“The plan is that on April 4, there will be a vote to reshuffle the composition of the government in order to ensure the work will be more effective,” the prime minister told students at a graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh.

“It’s not that any ministers are bad, but some ministers are slow,” he said. He did not name names, but said that eight ministries in all would be affected by the change.

Some ministers had prematurely submitted their resignations, the premier said, but he insisted that no one knew the terms of the restructure and, until it was announced, all ministers still had a job to do.

Comfrel executive director Koul Panha, said yesterday that “nepotism” and “a lack of transparency” plagued the current cabinet and “therefore we hope the reshuffle will help improve good governance and give an opportunity to the youth, and bring new energy to increase the efficiency of work”.