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New solution needed fast

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-04-01 07:55

News that the post of Party secretary of a city has become a hot seat no one wants to occupy bodes poorly for pressing problems which need solving before more lives are lost.

The city of Linfen in North China's Shanxi province is notorious for frequent coalmine accidents and serious pollution. Its worst disaster, an iron ore waste-reservoir collapse, killed more than 200 people last year.

Four mayors have been dismissed from their posts and Party secretaries disciplined for such accidents in the past four years.

But dismissing leaders has not improved mine safety immediately, because their successors continue to be sacked in the wake of new disasters.

This explains the current situation in which no one is willing to assume the position of Party secretary.

It is a distressing state of affairs because substantial efforts are needed to determine why fatal accidents keep occurring and pinpoint the root cause of slack management.

It is undoubtedly right to remove a leader when a disaster invalidates his or her tenure. Rules demanding top leaders at different levels take responsibility for any serious problem under his or her leadership must remain.

However, rules are made to solve problems.

Although automatic dismissal is designed to forewarn failed leaders' successors, if this system is not working, there is no reason to continue it.

Linfen is a case in point. Four leaders being removed in three years means none held his or her position for long.

To be honest, a year is not even long enough for a leader to grow familiar with a city of more than 4 million, to say nothing of working out a feasible plan to overhaul problematic coalmine management.

Now a very capable leader is needed.

And he or she needs to be given special power to tackle the tough problems the city faces.

The successful candidate should also be given enough time to have his policy implemented before being removed for an accident that may be caused by the mismanagement of his predecessors.

It would be a shame for the provincial government to drag its foot on this issue.

It is high time that substantial efforts were made to thoroughly solve the problems in the management of this city.

(China Daily 04/01/2009 page8)