A nationwide audit of social security funds in China has
discovered severe loopholes such as lax supervision and
embezzlement. This comes amid an ongoing investigation in Shanghai
that has netted top officials in the financial centre. ?
The report at a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Wen
Jiabao came approximately two months after Shanghai's top Party
chief, Chen Liangyu, was sacked for alleged involvement in the
siphoning of hundreds of millions of dollars from the city's
pension fund.
"In some places problems exist including lax implementation of
policies, poor management and even misappropriation and
embezzlement (of the funds)," Xinhua News Agency quoted officials
at a State Council Executive Meeting as saying yesterday. "Some
problems are relatively serious and great attention should be paid
to them."
However, the meeting didn't identify any specific cases of the
misuse of the funds or any detailed figures. Xinhua said the check
was carried out by the National Audit Office in September when the
central government was widening a probe into the illegal investment
of 3.2 billion yuan (US$410 million) from Shanghai's pension fund
in speculative real estate deals.
The review targeted old age, medical and unemployment insurance
funds for 2005 in 29 provinces, municipalities and autonomous
regions except Tibet, Xinhua said. The audit results, which will be
made public at a later date, showed that the management and use of
social security funds was "good in general," according to
Xinhua.
Those at the meeting said social security funds are
"high-voltage power lines" and shouldn't be misused and embezzled
by anyone. It urged relevant departments and local governments to
consciously rectify the problems found in the audit and refund
misappropriated and missing money within a set time.
"These problems involving violations of law and discipline
should be thoroughly investigated to ascertain responsibility of
relevant people," Xinhua quoted those at the meeting as saying. It
also called for more transparent management of social security
funds which stood at 1.85 trillion yuan (US$237 billion) by the end
of last year.
"The collection, management, use and operation of social
security funds should be made public regularly for supervision,"
those at the meeting agreed. ?
It was also agreed to punish with Party and government
discipline measures those responsible for a chemical spill that
seriously polluted the northeastern Songhua River on November 13
last year.
Those to be punished are with the China National Petroleum
Corporation and Jilin Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau
but their identities were not revealed.?
Around 100 tons of benzene spilled into the river after an
explosion in a Jilin chemical plant under the China National
Petroleum Corporation which killed eight people and injured 60.
The river pollution led to the resignation last December of Xie
Zhenhua, minister of the State Environmental Protection
Administration, the highest-ranking official to leave office for an
environmental incident.
(China Daily November 23, 2006)