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Wang Xiangwei

Giant agencies aim to improve efficiency
The Communist Party leadership has given the final nod to a much anticipated restructuring of key central government agencies.
The changes would see the creation of at least two 'super ministries' and give the   environmental watchdog ministerial status, sources close to the process said.
However, big oil companies and existing agencies  are still resisting the creation of a ministry of energy, and   it is unlikely to be set up  now.
The changes are part of a drive to reduce bureaucratic overlap and boost efficiency.
The annual session of the  National People's Congress, which begins on Wednesday, is expected to approve forming a mega ministry of industries and information that would help the world's fourth largest economy respond more rapidly  to the shifting demands of the domestic and overseas markets,  and a  transport  ministry.
Wang Yukai ,  professor at the National School of Administration, said the legislature would need to watch these  'super ministries'  more closely and carefully than other bodies.
'With more power comes  more responsibility and accountability,' Professor Wang said.
The new industry ministry would take over responsibility for defence procurement and the state tobacco monopoly. The Ministry of Information Industry,  set up in the last government  reform in 1998, is likely to be abolished.
The ministry will  also  plan  and oversee development of important sectors including  the iron and steel and non-ferrous metals industries.
The new transport ministry was likely to combine the  Ministry of Communications, General Administration for Civil Aviation and State Postal Bureau, though not the  Ministry of Railways, sources said.
As has been widely expected, the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) will become a ministry, giving it a bigger budget, more staff and, possibly, the  clout it sorely needs  to tackle the pressing issues of pollution and global warming.
Wang Canfa ,  an environmental expert at the China University of Political Science and Law, said the move would give Sepa some of the teeth it had long sought but not necessarily   the power to compel  local authorities  to  rein in industrial polluters and protect  the environment.
The NPC was unlikely to approve creating a ministry of energy because of the difficulty of balancing  the interests of various government bodies and state monopolies, sources said.
The National Development and Reform Commission and an energy office reporting to the State Council currently control energy policy. The issue of creating an  energy ministry has shot up the government's agenda in part because of worries about energy security with oil prices above US$100 a barrel and the mainland soon to be dependent on imports to meet half its crude oil needs.
The key moves
A ministry of industries and information will absorb departments such as the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence, and  assume some functions of the top economic management agency, the National Development and Reform Commission.  The Ministry of Information Industry will probably be scrapped.
A ministry of transport and communications will combine the civil aviation and postal administrations and  Ministry of Communications.
The  State Environmental Protection Administration is to be upgraded to a full ministry.



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