Budget review finds gaps between funding and public service allocated
Print Edition
Last year, the Minhang District paid out 82.1 million yuan (US$13.5 million) in subsidies to bus operators of 70 lines, of which subsidies to 21 lines were around a quarter more than the amount of money budgeted for the services.
The disparity was one of several highlighted in a finance authority report that found gaps between spending allocations and the services they are meant to provide.
Of programs reviewed, the district scored 80.8 points out of a possible 100, receiving a “fair” performance ranking.
Minhang needs to improve its accuracy correlating budgeting with program goals and implementation procedures, the authority said.
Reform for transparency
The report was published on the Minhang Finance Bureau’s website (www.mhqczj.gov.cn) as part of reforms to increase transparency in government.
It reviewed 12 programs implemented in 2012 to improve public services and enhance residents’ lives.
The projects, budgeted at about 988.78 million yuan, related to six sectors, including transport, landscaping, the labor market and education. The reviews were conducted by outside appraisers chosen through a public bidding process.
Scoring highest in the report was the program subsidizing the education of children of migrant workers. The district allocated 5,000 yuan to each migrant pupil last year to defray part of their schools’ operating costs, including teachers’ salaries, training and school maintenance.
Among the programs with lower scores was one to support psychological services in primary and middle schools.
Only 5.6 percent of the 8.69 million yuan allocated were actually spent on setting up consulting offices in 47 middle schools, 38 primary schools and six centers. The report said officials failed to take into account the length of time needed to establish the services.
In its findings on the bus subsidies, the report said transit authority officials failed to tailor their budget allocations to route changes adopted by eight bus companies operating 70 lines in the district.
Booming beneficiaries
Other programs fared more positively in the report.
A project by the district’s labor and social security bureau to train 10,000 people actually accommodated 16,000 participants, the report said. The district’s education commission also successfully spent 54 million yuan to renovate buildings at 66 schools last year.
The report also surveyed residents about the performance of public services and found pockets of dissatisfaction.
For example, only about 55 percent of respondents said they were happy with the program to install security cameras at public venues such as hospitals and banks.
Less than 20 percent of teaching staff at local schools responded favorably to a program to upgrade equipment in labs.
And farmers surveyed for the report said the district’s rural benefits program is too complicated for them to understand.
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