Announcement
by the National Audit Office of the People s Republic of China (CNAO) on Audit Findings of Relief Funds And Materials provided for the Wenchuan Earthquake
(No. 3)
(Announced on August 4, 2008 )
With the gradual transition from emergency relief work to the resettlement of quake-affected people and the restoration and reconstruction of their homeland, the CNAO has readjusted its work priorities and concerned about providing relief and resettlement to the quake-affected people without delay while continuing to follow up its whole-process audit work. Up to now, audit institutions at different levels across China have audited 18 central departments and units, 1126 provincial departments and units in 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, 5281 prefecture departments and units as well as 20741 county departments and units. They have also extended their audit to 2676 small towns and 5763 villages and investigated 45149 quake-affected households in the five provinces (city) Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing and Yunnan.
The audit findings show that under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, local party committees and governments of both quake-hit areas and other areas throughout the country have attached great importance to relief work, implemented in an active way various relief policies according to the formers plans and requirements, stepped up inputs of more relief funds and kept improving supervision and use of relief funds and materials. First, they have done a good job of resettling the quake-affected people and providing relief to them. Second, they have worked out sound methods to supervise relief funds and materials and kept regulating acceptance, supervision, allocation and use of relief funds and materials. Third, they have taken an active part in the work of restoring industrial and agricultural production, set about doing preparations without delay for making plans for post-quake reconstruction and coordinating support between similar departments. Fourth, they have attached great importance to the problems shown in the audit announcements and recommendations, corrected and solved them in an active way. With the concerted efforts from all the departments and units concerned, the efficiency and results for making use of relief funds and materials have continuously improved.
Up to now, no major problems violating laws and disciplines have been found in the course of audit.
According to the stipulations prescribed in the Audit Act of the People s Republic of China and demands set in the Notice on Strengthening Supervision of Relief Funds and Materials issued by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC), the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the CNAO, the following is the announcement of the audit findings up to 18 July since the last such announcement:
I.The General Situation of Collection, Use and Balance of Relief Funds and Materials
1.The General Situation of Allocating Relief Funds and Materials by the Central Financial Department and Local Ones at Different Levels
Such relief funds allocated by both the central financial department and local ones at different levels have reached RMB 63.708 billion yuan.
The emergency relief funds allocated by the central financial department amounted to RMB 25.064 billion yuan ( of which, RMB 17.589 billion yuan was directly allocated as subsidies of a special item, RMB 5.876 billion yuan was allocated through the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Health and related central units, and RMB 1.599 billion yuan was allocated as expenses for transferring grains, purchasing and storing wheat in the quake-hit areas, supplying quake-affected market, purchasing relief materials and subsidizing education). RMB 30 billion yuan was allocated for post-quake restoration and reconstruction.
RMB 8.644 billion yuan was allocated as financial relief funds by 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
The relief funds from central financial department and local ones at different levels accepted by the 5 quake-hit provinces and city Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Chongqing and Yunnan--totaled RMB 48.695 billion yuan, of which RMB 11.782 billion yuan was spent as follows: RMB 0.769 billion yuan spent as comprehensive financial sudsidies, RMB 6.181 yuan as civil administration relief expenses, RMB 0.726 billion yuan as health expenses, RMB 0.712 billion yuan as expenses for storing up and transporting relief materials, RMB 1.716 billion yuan as expenses for doing rush repairs to infrastructure, RMB 1.062 billion yuan as public security, education and TV-broadcasting expenses as well as RMB 0.616 billion yuan as other expenses.
2.The General Situation of Relief Funds and Materials Donated by Society
Such relief funds and materials accepted by 18 central departments and units, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps totaled RMB 58.633 billion yuan, of which RMB 11.665 billion yuan was directly accepted by 18 central departments and units and RMB 46.968 billion yuan by local governments and departments. RMB 12.310 billion yuan was spent mainly on civil administration relief, materials storage, allocation and transport as well as rush repairs to infrastructure while RMB 46.323 billion yuan is the balance (of which funds account for RMB 45.343 billion yuan and materials RMB 0.98 billion yuan).
3.The General Situation of Special Party Membership Dues
Of RMB 8.193 billion yuan of special party membership dues accepted by the Organizing Department of CCCPC (including RMB 6.723 billion yuan handed in by local party committees), RMB 1.2 billion yuan has been allocated to the quake-affected areas. Of RMB 7.563 billion yuan of special party membership dues accepted by 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, RMB 6.723 billion yuan has been turned over to the Organizing Department of CCCPC.
II.Major Problems Found in the Course of Auditing Relief Funds and Materials //Audit findings on Relief Funds and Materials
1.The Balance of Funds and Materials Donated by Society Remains in Many Departments and Units at Different Levels
The aforesaid balance remaining at central, provincial, prefecture and county level totals RMB 46.323 billion yuan, of which RMB 6.916 billion yuan is the balance remaining in the central departments and units, making up 14.93% of the total; RMB 19.57 billion yuan the balance kept at provincial level ( of which RMB 11.217 billion yuan kept by 27 provinces and cities not affected by the quake), making up 42.25 %; RMB 12.163 billion yuan the balance kept at municipal and prefecture level (of which RMB 9.616 billion yuan kept by 27 provinces and cities not affected by the quake), making up 26.26 %; RMB 7.674 billion yuan the balance kept at county (district) level (of which RMB 5.456 billion yuan kept by 27 provinces and cities not affected by the quake), making up 16.56%. The aforesaid donated funds and materials are actually under the control of 17 central departments and many units at provincial, prefecture and county level such as civil administration and charity associations, Red Cross Societies, other administrative undertakings, foundations of public donations, people s organizations and social groups. This situation is not helpful to concentrating financial funds for making overall plans to allocate and use them. For instance, RMB 0.422 billion yuan of donated funds accepted by Sichuan province is kept separately in 21 units such as its communications bureau and bureau of land and resource while 50% of RMB 0.589 billion yuan of social donations accepted by municipal and county departments of civil affairs in Anhui is the balance still kept by them.
To deal with the aforesaid problems, various departments at different levels are taking effective measures and putting more efforts in making up and consolidating overall plans.
2.There Are Cases of Relief Materials in A Few Areas Kept Too Long in Stock or Unfit for Use
It is due to the causes such as blockage of information, supply devoiced from demand and disqualified products that have brought about the consequence of some relief materials in a few areas are kept too long in stock or unfit for use. For instance, as the number of quake-affected people verified by the provincial bureau of civil affairs in Shaanxi is less than that originally reported by the bureau, an extra amount of 16.800 tons of grain was therefore appropriated as the first batch of the central government s relief grain plan and has been kept too long in stock in the transfer stations of both the civil affairs bureau and grain reserve bureau as well as in the towns and the villages of this province. In spite of meeting the demand for tents in MaoCounty and Heishui County of Aba Prefecture, Sichuan, the Aba local government has allocated more than 10.000 tents to the two counties. As there are over 7000 tons of disinfectants that won t be consumed in a short period in the quake-hit areas of Sichuan and nor is the condition available for storing them up there, a hidden danger for safety therefore exists and what s more, problems like self-ignition and leakage of disinfectants have cropped up in both Li County and Hanyuan County. The 9 batches of secondary materials accepted by Haining City of Zejiang Province, which have been kept too long in stock become mildewed and strangely smelled and therefore surpass the set standard of PH. Identified as disqualified materials after verification of the quality-checking department, it is unlikely to send these secondary materials to quake-hit areas for use.
To deal with the aforesaid problems, local governments and departments concerned have taken measures to improve flow of information, readjust redundancy and shortage of materials and strictly regulate check and verification of the accepted materials.
3.There are such cases as few local authorities taking the opportunity of collecting unauthorized fees and raising the standards for distributing subsidies to quake-affected people of their own accord while distributing subsidies in some quake-hit areas.
First, few local authorities raised the standards for distributing subsidies and even took the opportunity of collecting unauthorized fees so as to harm the interests of the quake-affected people. For instance, the subsidy of RMB 101.100 yuan for 337 quake-affected households of QinglongVillage, DingjiaTown in Yuanba District of Guangyuan City, SichuanProvince, was diverted as collected funds for road building. As local leaders of HuaiyuanTown in ChongzhouCity took the subsidies of cash and grain as funds for demolishing ramshackle houses, 221 households in financial difficulty in the town who would not have their crumbling houses demolished have yet to get the aforesaid subsidies. According to the areas reported by the quake-affected rural households themselves for building new houses, the urban and rural construction administration of Jiuxiang Town in Hanyuan County has collected RMB 46.100 yuan as accessory expenses for urban infrastructure from 20 rural households who want to build their ramshackle houses in the planned reconstruction area at the price of RMB 15 yuan per square meter. Without authorization, leaders of Caojiagou Village, Tianwang Town of Chenchang District in Baoji City, Shaanxi Province, decided to collect RMB 200 yuan of construction planning expenses and RMB 2.000 yuan of insurance funds for reconstruction per household from 98 quake-affected households in the village who want to have their houses rebuilt, and have actually collected RMB 1870.00 yuan from 85 households.
Second, aside from the standards for distributing subsidies set by the state, few units have distributed subsidies to their own employees out of the donated funds appropriated by their superiors. For instance, the Sichuan meteorological bureau granted RMB 50.000 yuan of living allowance per head to all the working staff of Beichuan County meteorological bureau and the Sichuan scientific and technological association distributed a subsidy of RMB 2.000 yuan per head to its employees living in the quake-hit areas who are either dead or in financial difficulty.
Local governments concerned have settled in earnest the aforesaid problems and worked out relevant systems.
4.Construction of mobile homes in few quake-hit areas is devoiced from the actual requirements there.
First, construction of mobile home for resettlement concentrating only in some areas fails to meet the quake-affected people s actual requirements for living and going for production. The practice of resettling these people in such large concentrated living quarters with high population density have caused inconveniencies of making them live far from their contracted land for cultivation, thus creating trouble for their farming life.
Second, as the actual need for mobile homes is on the decrease, these mobile homes in some areas are left unused. Since issuing the policy of granting subsidies for building either transitional houses or permanent ones on their own, the number of quake-affected people who have chosen to resettle themselves is on rise, which has led to reduced requirements for mobile homes, thus making these mobile homes in some quake-hit areas in Sichuan left unused. For instance, 4011 rooms among the mobile homes already built in some resettlements of DujiangyanCity have been left unused.
Third, the reduction of the numbers of mobile homes in some areas according to the readjustment of their original plans has made facilities and raw materials of mobile-home producing enterprises lie idle. For instance, according to its preliminary plan, the Chongqing department concerned has purchased some 30.000 sets of mobile homes from 6 enterprises such as Chongqing Steel Group. After readjusting the aforesaid plan, it failed to honor its contract for purchasing 16.500 sets, thus causing the production lines and raw materials just bought by the enterprises according to the contract lie idle.
To solve these problems, the departments concerned and the local governments have tried hard to readjust their plans without delay.
5.Major Problems in Making Use of Relief Funds and Materials
In the course of making use of relief funds and materials, problems in defiance of regulations such as turning over behind schedule relief funds and diverting them to other purposes have been found in some areas and units. A few cadres at grass roots have been found being too generous to their relatives and friends. 36 cases of this kind have been found in the course of audit.
For instance, without reporting to his office, Mr.Xu, an accountant from the civil administration office of YangjiTown in Tancheng County of Shangdong Province did not turn over in time RMB 13299.5 yuan of donated funds. After this problem was found and pointed out in the course of audit, the accountant turned over the cash and receipt, and the joint investigation group formed by TanchengCounty is further checking and handling this problem. The hospital of AnlongTown in Dujiangyan City, SichuanProvince, got relief medicines worth RMB 226.800 yuan with its false prescriptions. The municipal health bureau later announced this problem in defiance of regulations found in the course of audit and suspended Mr. Zhong, head of this hospital from his post. Mr. Chen, Party Secretary of Jiaojiashan Village in Taibei County of Shaanxi Province and Mr. Hu Secretary of this village listed 13 persons from 3 households including their relatives and themselves, who are actually disqualified according to set regulations, as households whose houses need reconstruction and persons of 3 have-nots and the aforesaid persons have already got their monthly living allowance totaling RMB 3900 yuan. After this problem was found in the course of audit, Chen was given a serious warning within the party, Wu was criticized and the 3 households were disqualified as households whose houses need reconstruction . The aforesaid living allowance was also recovered.
The auditing organs concerned have turned over the aforesaid problems to local governments and departments concerned, and the latter and local party committees attached great importance to and set about investigating and dealing with the problems without delay. The funds and materials that have not been handed in as scheduled or diverted to other purposes have been all recovered and 21 persons responsible for these violations have been given administrative and party disciplinary punishment.
III.Rectifications
Bringing into play the advantage of their follow-up audit of relief funds materials, audit institutions at different levels throughout China have promptly put forward 2642 audit recommendations, of which 309 recommendations aim at problems cropping up in the course of implementation of various national relief policies, 1914 recommendations at regulating acceptance, allocation, use and supervision of relief funds and materials, 115 recommendations at improving the efficiency of making use of relief funds and materials and preventing their waste and damage and 304 recommendations aim at other purposes.
Attaching great importance to the aforesaid recommendations, local governments, departments and units concerned have taken 2545 recommendations while taking effective measures to correct various problems in defiance of regulations found in the course of audit and disciplinary action according to law against the persons responsible for these problems. For instance, the people s government of Yuanba District in Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province has issued an order, banning the subsides for quake-affected people as funds collected for building roads, returned all the subsidies diverted in defiance of regulations to the quake-affected people and took disciplinary action against the responsible persons concerned. According to the audit suggestion concerned, provincial departments like Sichuan communications bureau have turned over all the balance of donated funds to Sichuan s special financial organ.
According to the aforesaid audit recommendations, local governments at different levels have issued 411 regulations to perfect their systems. For instance, the general office of Heilongjiang provincial government, according to the problems found and the recommendations put forward in the course of audit, especially made and issued the document Notice on Improving Supervision and Use of Donated Funds and Materials as Relief for Areas Hit by the Wenchuan Quake , making clear the basic principles for this purpose and putting forward the concrete demands for unified plans, coordinated allocation and use of relief funds and materials. According to the audit recommendation concerned, the local government of Mianyang City in Sichuan Province has made 13 regulations for improving its supervision and use of relief funds and materials while the local government of Pengzhou City in this province, according to the audit recommendation concerned, has made 5 supervisory systems and regulations so as to ensure making use of relief funds and materials in a scientific, rational and efficient way.
