Academic sceptical move will improve accountability Revelations that officials were taking money for personal investment projects have triggered new rules to improve management of Shanghai's social security fund. The corruption scandal has already led to the sacking of Shanghai party secretary Chen Liangyu , while several other officials and business executives are under investigation over possible involvement. The new rules required social security funds to be kept in a special account, media reports said yesterday. An academic said the social security fund already had a designated account and called on the government to clearly state how it planned to improve management. The city has not released the full text of the rules, called the Shanghai Social Security Fund Financial Management Measures. Officials attending a government meeting on Monday said the pension fund should be managed according to the law, with strict supervision and more transparency. Zhong Renyao , a professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics who advises the government on pension reform, said the emphasis on transparency was positive. 'It is still not very clear about how they will do this. What information will be disclosed? Will the information be disclosed to the public or just internally?' he asked. Professor Zhong recommended that managers report to the local legislature on a regular basis. But foreign analysts say local lawmakers are largely powerless. The professor said the government should also set limits on how corporate annuities - money collected from companies and workers - could be invested. That part of the social security fund is the most laxly supervised. The money misappropriated in Shanghai is believed to have come from corporate annuities. The scandal has made workers even more sceptical about contributing to a pension fund. A more effective solution to the corruption problem would be for the central government to take over pension funds. But Professor Zhong said provincial and city officials had previously opposed such a move, being unwilling to give up the power to manage funds. The 21st Century Business Herald yesterday quoted National Social Security Fund Council vice-chairman Gao Xiqing as saying the central government would help manage individual social security accounts in nine provinces and cities: Jilin , Heilongjiang , Tianjin , Shandong , Henan , Shanxi , Hubei , Hunan and Xinjiang . Professor Zhong also called for the establishment of a super agency to regulate pension funds, since the responsibility was now split between several government bodies.
