🤑 China’s anti-corruption watchdog vows crackdown on misuse of flood relief funds

[Hamartia Antidote]

China’s anti-corruption watchdog vows crackdown on flood relief fund misuse

Top anti-graft body calls reconstruction ‘the most urgent civil project’ and urges surveillance to ensure money is used transparently and building standards are met after billions of yuan distributed to disaster-struck areas.

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• Top anti-graft body calls reconstruction ‘the most urgent civil project’, urges surveillance to ensure proper building standards and use of money
• The pledge comes after report revealing abuse of billions of yuan for 2021 Henan flooding sparks public anger

Reconstruction is expected to take two years in the northern Hebei province, where flooding caused 40,000 houses to collapse and damaged 150,000 others. Photo: AFP

China’s top anti-graft body has pledged to crack down on corruption in the use of reconstruction funds on Tuesday after more than 9 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) was distributed to flood-hit areas.

Heavy floods have hit central and northern China this summer, killing more than 50 in Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province, with the capital city recording its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.

The flooding in Beijing left 59,000 homes collapsed and another 147,000 seriously damaged, while 40,000 houses in Hebei collapsed and over 150,000 others were seriously damaged.

The reconstruction process is expected take two years in Hebei and three years in Beijing, officials have said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) called for local party committees and governments to treat post-disaster reconstruction as their “main political responsibility and the most urgent civil project” to ensure people’s livelihoods and restore order as soon as possible.

“[Corruption-fighting bodies] must urge governments to repair damaged infrastructure such as transport, communications and electricity, push for the resumption of work and production, speed up repair of schools, hospitals and aged care homes … and make sure people can move back home or into new housing before winter,” it said.
It called for local discipline inspectors to increase surveillance to make sure the funds are handled transparently and buildings meet construction standards.

It said there should be channels for people to report any misconduct and urged governments to focus on the accuracy of post-disaster statistics, bribery prevention and the correct usage of funds and donated items.
The CCDI also cautioned against government inaction and disorganised management in flood recovery.

Last month, an audit report released by the Henan provincial government revealed that about 10 billion yuan worth of reconstruction funds for summer flooding in 2021 had been misused by local officials

According to the report, examples of misuse by county governments in the central province included diverting funds, building low-quality projects and obtaining funds despite not suffering flood damage.

The 2021 summer floods in Henan killed almost 400 people, resulted in economic losses of over 120 billion yuan and sparked nationwide uproar over censorship and the poor emergency response by local officials.

Public anger about the malfeasance revealed in the audit report inspired a commentary by the state-run Guangming Daily on August 2.
“Construction funds are specially issued by the state, so why haven’t they been used for the people?” the commentary said. “Who is so daring? Was there any regulation?”