A 39-year-old motor-taxi driver, Chan Samoeun, his wife and three children have been receiving 200,000 riel every month from the government as part of the nationwide Cash Transfer Programme, which seeks to alleviate the impacts of reduced income on households as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

“This money is not much for those who have a good life, but for me it is a lot and helped me to pay for a monthly rental room,” he said about the grant he has been receiving since June 2020, when the programme began.

Since that time, the state has spent 2.734 trillion riel ($683.64 million) on poor and vulnerable families affected by the pandemic.

The Cash Transfer Programme is a special assistance program launched by the government to lessen the financial burden of people holding IDPoor Cards 1 and 2 and those who have been affected by Covid-19.

At the start of the crisis over two years ago, Chan Samoeun and his family, who live in Tuol Sangke I commune in the Russey Keo district, lost almost all of their income.

Samoeun said he could earn between 30,000 and 50,000 riel per day before the pandemic, but had been making only between 10,000 and 20,000 riel per day during that time.

“It is very good that the state spends the money to help poor families like mine when we do not have any income due to the Covid-19 outbreak,” he told The Post.

Prime Minister Hun Sen officially launched the Cash Transfer Programme to provide cash assistance to poor and vulnerable households as part of its fight against Covid-19 in June 2020, which was implemented by the Ministry of Social Affairs later that month.

Since then, 23 payments have been issued to the households.

The social affairs ministry said in a May 24 statement that the next round of payments will take place from May 25 to June 24.