There is still plenty of room to cut administrative expenses,
says a commentary in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:
According to Beijing Daily, the municipal government of
Beijing is to reduce daily expenses by 10 percent this year.
Expenses, such as meeting expenses, hospitality expenses and
overseas inspection costs, will be strictly controlled. Luxurious
office buildings and training centers are forbidden. Meetings and
paperwork will be further reduced.
This is an act that complies with the will of the people. While
the supervision of the government budget by the People's Congress
is not yet complete, it is necessary to make reducing
administrative costs a criterion in assessing government
efficiency.
During this year's session, Feng Pei'en, a member of the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, cited disturbing data:
"From 1986 to 2005, per capita administrative costs shouldered by
citizens became 23 times greater, while the growth of GDP was only
14.6 times greater." Feng also said, "Now there are millions of
government vehicles, which cost over 200 billion yuan (US$25.64
billion) a year, while only one-third of the usage is for
business." He criticized the high administrative costs for
burdening public finance.
The biggest problems at present are weak budget restrictions and
the existence of extra-budgetary funds. Budget lines are flexible,
which easily leads to the waste of public money.
While reducing administrative costs, the government should
increase input in the social security system, education, public
health and housing.
Institutional reform is needed to compress administrative
expenses in the long run. There is still an absence of public
participation in decision-making on the allocation of public
resources. The People's Congress at all levels should review
government budgets.
(China Daily March 26, 2007)