More support should be given to local audit offices to beef up
their effectiveness, according to an article in Guangming
Daily. An excerpt follows:
Auditor-General Li Jinhua's report to the Standing Committee of
the National People's Congress (NPC) last month stirred up an audit
storm.
While Li's National Audit Office (NAO) is basking in praise for
their efforts, their local counterparts are out of the
spotlight.
According to reports, before Li's National Audit Office
uncovered the misuse of 6 million yuan (US$750,000) by the local
education bureau in Wuchuan, a city in South China's Guangdong
Province, the local audit office had already conducted its
investigation but failed to unearth the dirty dealings.
Instead of being an isolated case, this is a common occurrence
for local audit offices.
In recent years, while a slew of big scandals have been
uncovered by the NAO, local offices seemed impotent.
To some extent the current system can be blamed for the
problem.
Compared to the same level government departments, the audit
office is always understaffed and operates with a meager
budget.
But the institutions they are required to audit are more than
they can handle considering their staffs and budgets, preventing
them from conducting thorough auditing and resulting in their
ineffectiveness.
In addition, under the current system, the local government is
in charge of the audit office's personnel and budget affairs.
Under such an arrangement, when the office audits local
government, its independence and impartiality are understandably
questioned.
It is high time that local audit offices' work be strengthened
to serve as a powerful check on local government.
Currently, while it is hard to overhaul the existing system, it
would be prudent for more professionals and greater financing
backing to be made available to local audit offices.
(China Daily July 14, 2004)