Cabs could be cheaper than giving cadres cars
8/3/2005 8:19
The lavish use of government cars came under fire yesterday when
China's top advisory body released a study showing that each government car
costs at least 50,000 yuan (US$6,000) a year but that its operating efficiency
is only one-fifth that of a taxi's.
"Government cars cause shocking waste, as
the annual cost to run a taxi is merely 13 percent of the operating cost of a
government car," said Sun Jiye, a member of the advisory body, the Chinese
People's Political Consultative Conference, which is now in annual session in
Beijing.
"The study also found that only one-third of a government car's
mileage went for official purposes, with the remaining equally shared by
government officials and their families or the drivers for personal purposes,"
added Sun.
He called for immediate reform of the country's government
transport system.
Echoing sun's view, Jiang Xiaoqin, another CPPCC member,
said that many officials also ignore the rules and either purchase luxurious
cars or they keep cars they aren't entitled to.
According to Jiang's
estimation, the administrative cost of the Chinese government is 25 percent
higher than the world's average level, and even higher than that in some Western
developed nations.
Sun acknowledged, however, that reforming government
transport has turned out to be a "hard nut to crack."
He suggested that the
reform of government transport be put under public supervision, as well as the
People's Congress, or the local legislatures in China, to guarantee its
transparency and fairness.
(Xinhua)
Xinhua
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