Replacing vehicles right decision
The public should criticize high transport allowance instead of the move to scrap the old transport arrangement for officials, says an article in Changjiang Daily. Excerpt:
The decision to do away with the transport arrangement for officials in Liaoyang, Liaoning province, has invited widespread criticism because the Party chief and the head of a district reportedly got 76,000 yuan ($11,126.4) and 80,000 yuan as transport allowance.
Under the old system, high-ranking officials were provided cars and fuel, and in many cases drivers too, for which their departments paid. The new system will see them getting fixed amounts as transport allowance every year instead of cars and drivers.
The transport reform has been in public focus because people find it rather hard to accept it as impartial. Although the reform in Liaoyang has been criticized for favoring some officials, the old system has to go away because it involves huge costs.
Soon after the criticism, government bodies announced the transport allowance was being suspended and the reform plan would be amended after soliciting public opinion.
But fears have been raised that the criticisms could kill the reform altogether, which had just started making progress. Some government leaders may even feel happy for not having adopted the reform and could now ignore it altogether.
In fact, the discussion on exorbitant transport allowance for leaders is a landmark in China's auto reform. And if we don't want to see high allowances kill the reform and want to pacify the public we have to change the existing methods.
For example, the Liaoyang government can issue an amended version of its reform plan and get back the allowances it has already paid.
Such a reform is new for the country, and hence we should proceed carefully with it. Fixing appropriate transport allowances for officials, however, is not a very difficult task.
The reform in Liaoyang is actually playing a key role in the country's overall plan to do away with the old system. So it is imperative that higher officials play a more active role in propelling it.
(China Daily 07/28/2009 page9)
