Poverty alleviation funds must not be allowed to leak or sit idle
Last Friday, the National Audit Office published the audit results of 10.998 billion yuan in fiscal poverty alleviation funds in 40 counties from 2013 to 2015. The audit found that 151 million yuan in poverty alleviation funds had been falsely reported and fraudulently claimed or used in violation of regulations, and a further 870 million yuan in poverty alleviation funds was idle or lost and wasted. Of the 843 million yuan in idle poverty alleviation funds, 260 million yuan had been idle for more than 2 years, with the longest exceeding 15 years.
In recent years, as the level of economic development has risen, the fiscal revenue allocated to poverty alleviation has also risen accordingly. While investment in poverty alleviation has continued to increase, the use and management of agriculture-related funds in impoverished areas still faces many problems. Judging from the data released by the National Audit Office, in addition to the "leakage and seepage" caused by funds being falsely claimed and used in violation of regulations, what is even more serious is funds "sleeping." The existence of these problems has not only caused poverty alleviation funds to sit idle and be wasted, but has also affected the implementation of the central government's poverty alleviation policies, causing hardship for people in difficulty.
Where do the problems lie? Authority and responsibility at the upper and lower levels do not match, and impoverished counties have no autonomy in project arrangement and fund use; "money for buying soy sauce cannot be used to buy vinegar," and project and fund arrangement and use are "fragmented." All of these constrain the efficiency of targeted poverty alleviation. It can be said that fiscal poverty alleviation is not short of money, but short of efficiency.
How can efficiency be improved? In April this year, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Supporting Impoverished Counties in Carrying Out Pilot Programs for Coordinated Integration and Use of Fiscal Agriculture-Related Funds," clearly optimizing the supply mechanism for fiscal agriculture-related funds and promoting efficiency improvement at the top-level design stage. On June 29, the Ministry of Finance issued the "Notice on Agricultural Comprehensive Development Actively Supporting Impoverished Counties in Coordinated Integration and Use of Fiscal Agriculture-Related Funds Pilot Work." The highlight of this pilot is to grant impoverished counties the greatest possible autonomy in fund use, forming a new pattern of poverty alleviation investment in which "multiple channels draw water and one main faucet releases it." The purpose of this move is to tear down the fences around project funds, let funds flow into one pool, allow local governments to coordinate and use them independently, and concentrate resources to accomplish major and worthwhile tasks.
"Money for buying soy sauce cannot be used to buy vinegar" is an important factor constraining the efficiency of poverty alleviation fund use. Through this pilot, local governments can also effectively solve this problem through fund coordination. The National Audit Office has also stated that the focus of auditing poverty alleviation funds is to see whether the funds are used in accordance with the central government's relevant requirements for coordinated integration and use of fiscal funds. Those who continue to restrict the specific uses of fiscal agriculture-related funds or interfere with coordinated integration and use must be resolutely investigated and resolutely exposed. The focus of the poverty alleviation baton is already the issue of fund use efficiency.
As the main bodies of implementation, impoverished counties must do a good job in "receiving" and "using," dare to receive, be able to receive, and receive well, and promote a shift in the focus of work from "getting money" to "spending money well." Within a reasonable and lawful framework, local governments must also roll up their sleeves and boldly explore in the use of poverty alleviation funds.