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Shi Jiangtao

Probe finds no sign of quake fund fraud, but many guilty of dereliction of duty
Mainland graft-busters said no misappropriation of disaster relief funds had been uncovered since the deadly earthquake last month, but dozens of officials had been found guilty of misconduct.
They would face Communist Party discipline.
Authorities also said central and local government offices would cut expenses by more than 2.5 billion yuan (HK$2.84 billion) this year to help disaster relief efforts.
Supervision Minister Ma Wen said 43 officials had been disciplined for misconduct over disaster relief efforts after complaints from the public. Twelve had been sacked.
Ms Ma, who also heads the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, said her office and anti-graft offices in quake-stricken Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu, had received 1,180 public complaints and had dealt with 1,007.
'Quite a number of the complaints were about the misuse of tents, food and other relief materials in initial relief efforts,' she said yesterday.
Many other complaints were about incompetent officials who either reacted slowly or neglected their duties in relief efforts after the 8-magnitude quake which killed nearly 70,000 people and left more than 18,500 missing.
Although Ms Ma and National Audit Office auditor general Liu Jiayi said no major quake-related corruption scandals had been found, they acknowledged problems in distribution of disaster relief funds and supplies. Mr Liu said many quake victims had yet to receive the government daily subsidy of 10 yuan and a half kilogram of grain  because of poor roads and telecommunications.
It was the delay in delivering cash aid to survivors of Renjiaping village - on the outskirts of devastated Beichuan county - which focused media attention and that of the top leadership. 'We have seen relief materials sent to the temporary government offices here but we are unable to get them,' said one elderly woman.
Mr Liu also said both under-reporting and exaggerated reports had been exposed in some quake-hit counties and towns by more than 2,300 auditors.
Ms Ma refused to comment on allegations that corruption was behind a large number of schools which collapsed in the earthquake, killing thousands of students, but repeated promises to investigate possible graft in school construction.
'We must not draw any conclusion pending the result of government investigations,' she said. 'There must be complex reasons behind the collapse of schools.' She pledged to punish those found to have violated laws, but gave no details about the schools investigation or when it would be completed.
Officials also renewed zero-tolerance pledges involving relief funds and donations graft. They said unprecedented media and public scrutiny of government funds and disaster donations had helped reduce corruption, which was a big concern for quake survivors and donors alike.
Finance Vice-Minister Liao Xiaojun said that more than 1.5 billion yuan would be saved after Premier Wen Jiabao ordered all government departments to cut this year's budget spending by 5 per cent to help fund relief and reconstruction. Another 1 billion yuan tagged for government spending this year would go to disaster relief, along with nearly 95 billion yuan already used or earmarked for  relief work.



Dozens to be punished for misconduct