Government officials and heads of state-owned enterprises (SOEs)
will be held accountable for bad investment decisions that result
in huge economic losses, China's top auditor said yesterday.
Li Jinhua, head of the State Auditing Administration,?said
inspectors will conduct economic responsibility audits on
government officials and SOE chiefs, and assess the
cost-effectiveness of major infrastructure projects in order to
avoid the misuse of state funds.
"In line with the newly amended Audit Law, we will audit
government officials and SOE managers for the period of their
tenure," he said.
"Further, an important next step for us would be conducting
cost-effectiveness audits on major infrastructure projects."
Li was speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Fourth
Plenary Session of the National People's Congress (NPC),
China's top legislature.
In Li's opinion, "Bad decisions could be more serious than
embezzlement and corruption."
In his report to the NPC Standing Committee last June, Li said
auditors discovered that 1.6 billion yuan (US$198 million) worth of
state funds were being misused by 10 large SOEs.
In stark contrast, economic losses caused by bad or wrong
decision-making and mismanagement stood as high as 14.5 billion
yuan (US$1.7 billion).
Growing calls for government officials and SOE heads to be held
responsible for bad decisions have been addressed in the newly
amended Audit Law.
Article 25 of the law, amended by the NPC Standing Committee on
February 28, and to come into effect on June 1, authorizes auditors
to conduct economic responsibility audits.
Government officials and SOE heads will be audited for financial
income and expenses, and other economic activities in regions and
departments under their leadership.
Li yesterday also vowed to target the misuse of funds in huge
infrastructure projects this year. This is in line with Premier Wen
Jiabao's call for the building of a "saving country."
Li said the central government's decision to increase its
spending on rural areas has made it vital for audit bodies at all
levels to pay more attention to any problems that might arise as a
result.
"All audit administrations, from the top to the bottom levels,
especially local ones, should give priority to the issue from now
on," he said.
"Special audit investigations on rural infrastructure projects
will also be launched in the future."
Delivering his government work report on Sunday to nearly 3,000
lawmakers, Premier Wen pledged to shift the government's
infrastructure investment priority from cities to the
countryside.
The government plans to spend 339.7 billion yuan (US$42.3
billion) this year, and billions more over the next five years, to
push ahead with plans to build
a new socialist countryside.
(China Daily March 10, 2006)