Finance minister pledges reports amid fears over misappropriation of funds
The finance minister has promised that reports on the use of the 70 billion yuan (HK$79.53 billion) on reconstruction of the quake-hit regions will be made to the nation's top legislative body.
The pledge by Xie Xuren at the third session of the 11th National People's Congress' Standing Committee came amid rising concerns over misappropriation of disaster relief funds.
Of the 70 billion yuan to be included in this year's budget, Mr Xie said 60 billion yuan would come from the central budget 'stability and regulation fund', 5 billion yuan from vehicle purchase tax revenue, 1 billion yuan from the welfare lottery fund and 4 billion yuan from the state-owned assets operations budget, Xinhua reported. The minister vowed that the government would strengthen supervision of the fund and try to prevent embezzlement.
To date, 54.31 billion yuan from both central and local governments has been allocated to relief and reconstruction.
Delivering a report on relief and reconstruction to the nation's top legislative body, Vice-Premier Hui Liangyu described the devastating quake as posing 'the biggest challenge to rescue operations since the founding of the People's Republic of China'.
'Our priorities are resettling the affected people, repairing infrastructure and preventing disease outbreaks and earthquake-related disasters,' said Mr Hui, who is also deputy head of the State Council's earthquake relief headquarters.
