Nationwide Videophone Conference on the Work of Special Inspection on the Implementation of Government Procurement Held (Photos)

In order to deepen the implementation of the spirit of the 17th Party Congress, standardize the procedures of government procurement, strengthen the construction of combating corruption and upholding integrity, maintain the national and social public interests and increase the efficiency of fiscal fund utilization, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Supervision, National Audit Office and National Bureau of Corruption Prevention decided to launch the special inspection on the implementation of government procurement nationwide according to the spirit of the instruction of leaders of the State Council and the deployment of the Opinions on the Work Division of the CPC Central Committee and the Government Departments in Implementing the Task of Combating Corruption and Upholding Integrity in 2008 issued by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC.

The special inspection, which will start in May and end in September, will be conducted in four phases of self-inspection and self-rectification, inspecting key areas, rectification and improvement and review, focusing on purchasers and purchasing agencies of various levels in implementing the government procurement in 2006 and 2007.

Xie Xuren, Minister of Finance spoke at the conference, pointing out that during the five years after the Government Procurement Law was implemented, the work of government procurement has made outstanding achievements with the scale keep increasing from 100.96 billion yuan in 2002 to about 400 billion yuan in 2007, saving fiscal fund of more than 180 billion yuan in the five years.

The procurement scope is also deepened and expanded from pure goods purchase to engineering and service sectors. However, we must clearly realize that the reform of government procurement system started at a comparatively later date in China. With a lot of imperfect and nonstandard factors, China s government procurement system still has a long way to go compared with Government Procurement Law.

Launching the special inspection on the implementation of government procurement is an important measure to standardize the practices of government procurement, an important approach to safeguard the legal rights and interests of various parties of government procurement and an important way to strengthen the management of public fund expenditure.

We should full realize the importance and necessity of the special inspection from the height of implementing Scientific Outlook on Development, promoting governance according to law and deepening the reform of government procurement system to pragmatically intensify the senses of responsibility and urgency of the special inspection.

The work of the special inspection on the implementation of government procurement is an important content of China s financial work this year. Related department of various levels, especially financial departments should grasp related policies, make clear requirements, and pragmatically strengthen leadership to ensure a comprehensive, deep and healthy development of the work of government procurement by precise organization, inspection according to law and strengthening coordination.

Qu Wanxiang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, Vice Minister of Supervision and Deputy Head of NBCP put forward requirements regarding how discipline inspection departments can cooperate in the special inspection and further promote the work of government procurement.

He noted that discipline inspection departments of various levels should do a good job in the special inspection in an active and honest attitude and solid and effective manner. The inspection should reflect the basic requirements of combating corruption and upholding integrity of reform and innovation, laying equal stresses on punishment and prevention, promoting through overall planning and focusing on construction.

Measures should be taken to find out the absence and weak links in legal system, management system, supervision mechanism, operation and implementation centralized with existing problems, precisely grasp the key links and parts of effectively preventing corruption, and establish long-term mechanism that can effectively prevent corruption through deepening reform and innovation system.

Efforts should be taken to severely handle various law and discipline-breaking practices discovered in the inspection, especially the problem that leading cadres seek personal gain by abusing power through illegally interfere into the process of government procurement and the problem of avoiding bid invitation or making fake bid invitation during the process of government procurement.

Dong Dasheng, Deputy Auditor General of National Audit Office also put forward requirements to audit departments regarding how to do a good job in the special inspection. Zhang Tong, Minister Assistance of Finance declared the Circular on Launching the Special Inspection on the Implementation of Government Procurement Nationwide.

Ma Wen, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Minister of Supervision and Head of NBCP presided over the conference. She stressed at the end of the conference that it is the necessary requirement to implement the important strategic deployment of the 17th Party Congress of accelerating reform of administrative management system and strengthening construction of combating corruption and upholding integrity to earnestly implement government procurement, as well as an important measure to prevent abuse of public funds and corruption from the sources.

It is the first time to launch the special inspection on the implementation of government procurement nationwide after the Government Procurement Law came into effect in 2003. Various departments should take effective measures to honestly fulfill various work of the special inspection. Financial departments of various levels should pragmatically shoulder the responsibilities; supervision and audit departments should cooperate with each other closely so as to make a joint effort.

Efforts should be made to carefully research concrete measures for implementation through precisely organization, and appoint specific work to various levels and personnel. In cases that negative results are made due to ineffective work, leadership responsibilities will be investigated.

In order to ensure the smooth process of the special inspection, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Supervision, National Audit Office and NBCP, after researches, established the Leading Group of the Special Inspection on the Implementation of Government Procurement Nationwide, headed by Xie Xuren. Qu Wanxiang, Dong Dasheng and Zhang Tong are the deputy heads of the group. The leading group also has the Office of Leading Group of the Special Inspection on the Implementation Government Procurement Nationwide as its subordinate operation organization.