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No major abuses found in quake donations

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-06-25 11:41

China's National Audit Office said Tuesday no serious rule violations had been recorded in the use of money and goods arranged by the central and local governments for relief to the areas affected by the May 12 earthquake.

But the management over the money and goods donated was yet to be standardized, the audit office said in a statement.

As of June 12, the central government arranged 19.009 billion yuan ($2.71 billion) for the quake relief. All the provincial-level governments on the mainland combined had given 6.591 billion yuan, according to the statement.

The governments of Sichuan, Shaanxi, Gansu, Yunnan and Chongqing, which were ravaged by the 8.0-magnitude quake, had received 18.476 billion yuan in financial allocations.

The auditing found 37 out of 65 townships in four counties that were hit the worst, namely Wenchuan, Heishui, Maoxian and Lixian in Sichuan, failed to receive temporary subsistence allowances partly due to blocked roads.

The statement said as of June 12, the central government and related ministries and institutions and non-quake-affected areas had received 45.297 billion yuan worth of donations, both domestically and from abroad. Of the total, 13.487 billion yuan had been expended.

Management and distribution of the donations were found substandard in some areas, according to the statement. Factors included the absence of related mechanisms and inexperience in emergency management.

The auditing found 24.371 billion yuan, or 81 percent, of the total donations, lingering in the receiving areas and failing to be handed in to related central government departments or allocated to quake-affected areas.

According to the statement, mineral water, instant noodles, medical injections and syringes had piled up in some areas. Some had run past their expiry date.

Around 17,350 tents received in Beichuan County and Pengzhou City of Sichuan and Baoji City, Shaanxi, were too small to be used as makeshift shelters.

The statement added 1,000 kg of foodstuffs received in Wenchuan County and 1,800-plus bottles of mineral water received in Deyang City were found to be of poor quality.

The death toll from the May 12 earthquake stood at 69,185 as of noon on Tuesday, with 374,171 injured and 18,467 listed as missing.