Central government requires transparency in use of quake relief funds
16/6/2008 16:35
China's State Council issued today a guideline on regulating the use of
relief funds for the massive earthquake that jolted the southwestern Sichuan
Province on May 12.
It required local governments and organizations that
receive relief funds to use them transparently and efficiently.
The Ministry
of Civil Affairs statistics said the donations to date were valued at 45.654
billion yuan (US$6.6 billion) for the affected areas. The 8.0-magnitude quake
claimed at least 69,170 lives, left 17,427 missing and made millions homeless.
About 30 percent of the donations have already been offered to the
tremor-affected areas.
The Red Cross Society of China and the China Charity
Federation are major conduits collecting and distributing donations.
The
State Council, the country's Cabinet, urged individual donations should go to
areas in agreement with donors' wishes.
The priority would be for the
improvement of people's livelihoods in the quake-hit areas, the government
said.
This has been specified for reconstruction of peasants' houses,
re-building of schools, hospitals and welfare institutions, subsidies for those
in desperate need, including orphans and the disabled, and public facilities of
local transport and power supply, the guideline said.
To keep transparency of
the fund allocation and its use, the State Council asked the Ministry of Civil
Affairs to set up a database on fund sources, amount, donors' wishes and other
concerned information. The ministry was required to publicize the information
regularly.
Xinhua
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