China’s anti-corruption watchdog vows crackdown on misuse of flood relief funds

China’s top anti-graft body has pledged to crack down on corruption in the use of reconstruction funds on Tuesday after more than 9 billion yuan (US$1.25 billion) was distributed to flood-hit areas.

Heavy floods have hit central and northern China this summer, killing more than 50 in Beijing and neighbouring Hebei province, with the capital city recording its heaviest rainfall in 140 years.

The reconstruction process is expected take two years in Hebei and three years in Beijing, officials have said.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) called for local party committees and governments to treat post-disaster reconstruction as their “main political responsibility and the most urgent civil project” to ensure people’s livelihoods and restore order as soon as possible.

“[Corruption-fighting bodies] must urge governments to repair damaged infrastructure such as transport, communications and electricity, push for the resumption of work and production, speed up repair of schools, hospitals and aged care homes … and make sure people can move back home or into new housing before winter,” it said.