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Plug all loopholes

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-05-28 07:46

How to make sure that every penny and the materials donated are reasonably and efficiently used in earthquake relief has become a concern for both donors and those who manage the fund. The donations amounted to more than 32.7 billion yuan ($4.72 billion) as of yesterday.

It goes without saying that more efficiently and reasonably the money and materials are used, the more quake survivors will benefit from them. And of course, every person who has donated money and materials is expecting that his or her benevolence will contribute as effectively as possible to the alleviation of the survivors' suffering.

The transparency about the entire process of rescue efforts and disaster relief so far has contributed substantially to what has been achieved so far.

When it comes to the management of donations, a good mechanism should include good plans, reasonable delivery channels, effective supervision and transparency about all links involved so that the fund and materials are used exactly where they should.

Sichuan Earthquake Relief Headquarters started to recruit volunteers to work as supervisors to oversee how the donated money and materials are spent and delivered. The central government has sent auditors and supervisors to check whether the donations are properly managed and effectively used through right channels.

The National Audit Office released a telephone number and a website yesterday for anyone to report misappropriation of donated money or other malpractices in the management and delivery of donations or any wastage of disaster relief materials and funds. So did local governments in the quake-affected areas. The government has promised that any malpractice, if detected, will be made public.

All these measures are making sure that social supervision may function as a supplement to the institutional watchdogs within the government.

A supervisory mechanism must be established on the assumption that there would be bad apples, who can take advantage of possible loopholes for illegal gains.

If departments involved can do a good job in establishing an effective supervisory mechanism for the management and use of donated fund and materials this time, it will benefit not only the disaster relief and reconstruction, but also the building of an effective supervisory system in the long run.

(China Daily 05/28/2008 page8)