Appraisal system full of loopholes
There is no way Sinopec tries can justify its exorbitant chandelier, says an article in Oriental Morning Post. Excerpt:
Asked about the exorbitant renovation project of Sinopec, its spokesman said the budget for four old buildings was 240 million yuan, the same as netizens have been speculating. But the cost of a chandelier - 12 million yuan - as some netizens believe, is not true, he said. "The total cost (of the chandelier), from design and production to transportation and installation, is 1,561,600 yuan," he said.
Even 1.56 million yuan is an astronomical amount for a chandelier.
But Sinopec has defended itself by saying that large construction projects of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have to pass a strict appraisal system and it's impossible for them to spend money carelessly as "rumored" on the Internet.
So it's natural for people to doubt the strictness of an appraisal system that passes 1.56 million yuan for a chandelier. Some expensive chandelier makers say they have never heard of a chandelier costing more than 1 million yuan.
But Sinopec is still trying to defend its case, and that makes us wonder what is the difference between careless spending and what according to the "strict" appraisal system is prudent expenditure.
An appraisal system that can't curb careless spending by SOEs has to be full of loopholes. The system seems to have provided systematic protection to SOEs and connived with them to squander public money.
(China Daily 07/21/2009 page9)
