The Ministry of Finance yesterday made public the names of local government departments and officials who are involved in three cases of defalcation of poverty relief funds.
The ministry said in a news release that the offenders will be dealt with according to law and disciplined according to government rules. All the diverted funds will be retrieved, said Xinhua News Agency.
The provincial office of poverty alleviation and development in Gansu Province, northwest China, diverted 27.5 million yuan in poverty relief funds to build office and apartment buildings, and buy cars.
The provincial office of poverty alleviation and development in Shaanxi Province, also in northwest China, diverted 10.9 million yuan in poverty relief funds to pay for office expenses and facilities.
Wang Xiaohong, director of the office of poverty alleviation and development in Yunlian County of Sichuan Province, southwest China, defalcated 1.7 million yuan worth of poverty relief funds between 1997 and 2000, accounting for nearly two-thirds the relief funds that the central government had given to the county. She used the money to buy properties, give bonuses to office staff, and pay for dinners and business trips.
The ministry discovered these cases in a February-April inspection of the distribution, management and use of poverty relief funds by local governments in eight provinces and autonomous regions.
(eastday.com 08/09/2001)
