Five sacked for poverty relief irregularities

Five local officials in Hebei province have been sacked for embezzling poverty relief funds or failing to implement anti-poverty programs in their region, China’s top disciplinary watchdog said on Wednesday.

During a recent survey, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Hebei’s provincial disciplinary body found that local officials from the city of Zhangjiakou, and its Yuxian and Kangbao counties, had been slacking off in their poverty alleviation efforts, according to a statement from the CCDI. The CCDI also asked for a rectification effort to solve all the issues.

In September and October, the inspection found 441 problems in the city’s poverty alleviation program, including embezzling of relief funds, faking records, bureaucracy, incompetence, inadequate supervision, accepting bribes, and other violations of rules and regulations, the statement said.

As a result, the city’s Party chief Hui Jian and Mayor Wu Weidong are required to give an “in-depth self-criticism” before the provincial Party committee.

The city’s deputy Party chief Liu Baoqi and vice-mayor Yan Wanglin have received Party internal warning. Chen Peihong, the former head of the city’s disciplinary body, has been moved to a different post, according to the statement.

In Yuxian county, inspectors found that its Party chief Liu Shunfeng and government leader Wang Shuguo, who should have played a leading role in local poverty alleviation efforts, did not hold even a single meeting a year regarding the work.

A higher disciplinary body conveyed 378 tips about possible problems in poverty alleviation to the county from 2014 to 2016, but the county only checked and resolved 66 of them, the statement said.

So both officials, along with Zhang Titie, head of the county’s disciplinary body, were sacked for incompetence.

In Kangbao county, all 15 townships were found to have embezzled relief and agricultural funds for their own coffers, and its disciplinary officials failed to investigate cases and accepted bribes. In consequence, Du Ping, the county’s Party chief and Liu Guangjun, head of the county’s disciplinary body, were both sacked.

The county’s government leader Wei Hongxia received a “serious Party internal warning”, according to the statement.

The CCDI said in the statement that this inspection has shown that some local officials are not fully implementing the poverty alleviation policies proposed by the central government, and formalism and bureaucratism exist in the poverty relief sector.

So it is crucial to strengthen supervision and hold officials accountable for their actions in an effort to eliminate similar incidents, the top watchdog said.