Who should have the right to control the use of the donors' money for the earthquake victims in Sichuan province last year? That 80 percent of the 76 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) donated for the earthquake victims was reported on Wednesday to be under the government's management has touched off this debate.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) responded to the debate yesterday, saying that the country's non-governmental organizations (NGOs) do not have very good credibility, the feedback on their use of donor contributions is not transparent enough and hence, donors do not want them to handle the money.

The official from the MCA also said that the government faces a lot of pressure in managing such funds because of its financial system. Once the money has entered State treasury, a budget must be made for its use, and with a budget, it takes time to put the money to the right use. But it is not without merit for the donation to be kept in State treasury before being used. Strict audit will ensure that the money is not misappropriated or embezzled.

True, there were scandals about donor funds being misappropriated by NGOs in spite of the fact that the use of the donated money is believed to be much more flexible if it is under the control of NGOs. So, both the general public and the government do not feel reassured at such a large sum of money being put in the hands of NGOs.

Yet, will the money in the government treasury be 100 percent safe from being misappropriated or embezzled? Not necessarily. Misappropriation of funds allocated from the central government occurs every year as is revealed by the annual audit report.

But, the government is more trustworthy than the NGOs. That is why more than 60 percent of the respondents in an online survey prefer the government to NGOs when it comes to the question of who should hold the purse strings.

The core issue is how the donated money can be used in the right place and in the right manner. As far as efficiency, openness of financial accounts and information transparency are concerned, there is much to be desired in both cases.

There is no such belief of a NGO being more efficient, honest and clean than the government in allocating the donated money and materials. Everybody is fallible and can be corrupt when the power in his or her hands is under no effective supervision.

However, with China becoming more and more a pluralistic civil society, it is inevitable for NGOs as an increasingly important part of the social fabric to develop and take up a large part of social work such as raising donations or doing other social welfare jobs. Corresponding legislation is needed to put NGO activities on the right track. That is where the government should do a better job.

Now, when the government controls the majority of donated money, timely disclosure of information concerning its use and transparency of accounts is necessary for donors to know that the funds are used in the right place and in the right way.

(China Daily August 14, 2009)