State Grid probes car scam at unit
By Wang Qingchu |
April 29, 2011, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S State Grid has launched an investigation into its unit in the eastern Anhui Province after it was found to have spent huge sums of money for buying mid-to-high-end vehicles and giving them to over 300 officials.
Anhui Electric Power Corp recently spent more than 37 million yuan (US$5.68 million) on a latest batch of 185 vehicles and gave them out to officials, sparking a wave of criticism among workers, who accused the company of power abuse and embezzling state-owned assets, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
"The company started issuing vehicles to officials from 2006, and the standards have improved from domestic brand Chery to foreign brands, including Volkswagen and Toyota," said Gong Along, general manager of Anhui Electric's subsidiary which was in charge of car purchase.
To date, around 300 officials have received company-issued vehicles, the report said.
Anhui Electric justified the use of the government vehicles by calling it an "initiative to save cost." Issuing vehicles to officials was part of reforms aimed at cutting costs. If the company were to assign cars and drivers to all department heads, the cost would rise significantly, General Manager Wu Ping said. However, when asked to provide details about the cost cuts, Wu kept quiet.
The firm not only bought vehicles, each costing around 200,000 yuan on average, for officials, but also covered all other expenses, including insurance fee and tax.
State Grid, the country's major electricity operator, promised to tighten the man-agement of government vehicles and said those found guilty will be punished.
"The fact that officials of the State Grid can use government cars without spending a penny seriously tarnishes the image of stated-owned enterprises and undermines the country's authority," said Wang Kaiyu, a researcher at the Anhui Academy of Social Sciences.
The scandal follows a similar incident at the Guangdong unit of Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, which led to its general manager in Guangdong being suspended.
Lu Guangyu allegedly spent 2.59 million yuan last September on hundreds of bottles of fine wine and liquor, which were used as gifts or at receptions by Lu during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Anhui Electric Power Corp recently spent more than 37 million yuan (US$5.68 million) on a latest batch of 185 vehicles and gave them out to officials, sparking a wave of criticism among workers, who accused the company of power abuse and embezzling state-owned assets, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
"The company started issuing vehicles to officials from 2006, and the standards have improved from domestic brand Chery to foreign brands, including Volkswagen and Toyota," said Gong Along, general manager of Anhui Electric's subsidiary which was in charge of car purchase.
To date, around 300 officials have received company-issued vehicles, the report said.
Anhui Electric justified the use of the government vehicles by calling it an "initiative to save cost." Issuing vehicles to officials was part of reforms aimed at cutting costs. If the company were to assign cars and drivers to all department heads, the cost would rise significantly, General Manager Wu Ping said. However, when asked to provide details about the cost cuts, Wu kept quiet.
The firm not only bought vehicles, each costing around 200,000 yuan on average, for officials, but also covered all other expenses, including insurance fee and tax.
State Grid, the country's major electricity operator, promised to tighten the man-agement of government vehicles and said those found guilty will be punished.
"The fact that officials of the State Grid can use government cars without spending a penny seriously tarnishes the image of stated-owned enterprises and undermines the country's authority," said Wang Kaiyu, a researcher at the Anhui Academy of Social Sciences.
The scandal follows a similar incident at the Guangdong unit of Sinopec, Asia's largest oil refiner, which led to its general manager in Guangdong being suspended.
Lu Guangyu allegedly spent 2.59 million yuan last September on hundreds of bottles of fine wine and liquor, which were used as gifts or at receptions by Lu during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
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