Kep Chuktema ( km, កែប ជុតិមា; born 7 February 1951) is the former governor and mayor of the
Municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh (; km, ភ្នំពេញ, ) is the capital and most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since the French protectorate of Cambodia and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its economic, indus ...
.
Conflicts
Under Kep Chuktema's tenure, about 100,000 Phnom Penh residents have been displaced to relocation sites in and around Phnom Penh where access to employment, education healthcare and clean water is often limited. The municipality over the past ten years has failed to tackle the rate at which the population is growing. The city today faces more gridlock with the rise of population growth at 7.5% each year.
In March, Prime Minister
Hun Sen
Hun Sen (; km, ហ៊ុន សែន, ; born 5 August 1952) is a Cambodian politician and former military commander who has served as the prime minister of Cambodia since 1985. He is the longest-serving head of government of Cambodia, and o ...
expressed concern for the failing state of Phnom Penh’s infrastructure during a meeting with the visiting mayor of Paris. He said the city's expansion had led to electricity shortages, traffic jams, trash problems and an inadequate water supply system.
Chuktema is best remembered for the widely unpopular filling in of
Boeung Kak
Boeung Kak ( km, បឹងកក់) is an area in Khan Daun Penh and Khan Toul Kork centrally located in the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Until around 2010, it was covered by the largest urban lake in Phnom Penh. Residential areas ...
lake and the violent land evictions there and at the Borei Keila community, whose landless residents continue to protest regularly in Phnom Penh.
References
Living people
Governors of Phnom Penh
Mayors of places in Cambodia
1951 births
Members of the National Assembly (Cambodia)
People from Phnom Penh
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