Audit shows mls in poverty relief funds improperly used

Experts are calling for the strengthening of supervision of funds allocated for poverty alleviation, following an audit report showing more than 300 million yuan ($45.8 million) have been improperly used.

The report released by China’s National Audit Office on Friday says about 113 million yuan was misused on poverty-relief projects targeting enhancing municipal facilities, hosting visits by official and employees welfare.

About 355 million yuan allocated for poverty alleviation was left unused for more than a year, with 86 million yuan of the special fund aimed at helping industrial growth in poor areas has not been accessed for more than two years due to projects delays in nine provinces, said the report.

The office audited 897 randomly chosen poverty relief projects in 71 counties, involving some 27 billion yuan.

Some enterprises and individuals listed as recipients of aid failed to meet the necessary criteria, according to the report.

“There remains severe problems with poverty relief at the community level, which require stronger law enforcement and supervision,” Du Xiaoshan, a research fellow with Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told Global Times on Sunday.

Recipient organizations, as well as the media need to play a bigger role in supervising the implementation of poverty-relief policies, according to Du.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the government has allocated 86 billion yuan to poverty alleviation funds to local governments by June 2017.

China has set 2020 as the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society, and the eradication of poverty, the Xinhua News Agency reported.