Invite public access at the budget's outset

The posting of the Guangzhou government's budget online is a breakthrough in information transparency and should be promoted across the country, said Zhou Yun, a professor in South China University of Technology and a popular blogger.

"The Code of Practice on Access to Government Information says governments have to inform the people about their budgets and accounts ... And people should have the right to seek more or detailed information and should get that, too," Zhou said.

Though legally there are no impediments, many hidden obstacles still prevent the public from getting information on budgets. Why? Among the primary reasons is under-the-table deals and abuse of public funds.

If governments make budgets public, they will not only introduce public supervision in budget work and better fight corruption, but also invite pressure from cadres to prevent extravagance and waste, Zhou said. And precisely because many people do not expect a local government to issue its budget voluntarily, the Guangzhou financial bureau's move is a step forward.

Guangzhou's move was not expedient but followed a historic trend. And other government departments should follow its example to make their budgets public, for which efforts from all sides will be needed. Other departments have to do better than the Guangzhou bureau, though, and furnish details of their budgets and accounts, Zhou said.

Guangzhou's move is the advancement of its governing philosophy, but in sharp contrast, the Shanghai government deviated from political ethics by refusing to issue its budget because it was a "State secret". That many local governments have used the so-called "State secret" excuse time and again shows that a lot of our civil servants don't have even the minimum respect for the public, Zhou said.

"It's the people who are the masters of this country so the government has no reason to deny the public information on budgets especially because they are the taxpayers and budget funds come from their money." By now, it should have become a regular practice for governments to issue their budgets. But that has not happened. There seems to be a great imbalance between the government's power and the public's right to know.

Therefore the urgent need now is to establish a service-oriented government, a government that would change the attitude of officials' toward the people. Besides, it should be written into the Constitution that governments have to make their budgets and accounts public. If the Constitution can say citizens have to pay taxes in exchange for the rights and protection they get from the State, it can also incorporate other aspects of a budget through which taxes fly back to the economy, Zhou said.

Another important task is to pass on more professional knowledge to deputies to people's congresses so that they can examine budgets more thoroughly, because their work cannot be replaced by public supervision.

A feasible way of ensuring that government budgets are balanced - and are not extravagant or lopsided - is to invite the public supervision at the very beginning, rather than just let them know the result.

In fact, many government departments are adopting measures to increase their budgets in the plans they submit to people's congresses for approval. Thanks to the tight schedule and deputies' lack of professional knowledge, scrutinizing a government's budget is becoming a formality, Zhou warned.

Extended participation of people, especially those with professional skills, may improve the situation and also ensure their right to know, he said.

(China Daily 02/08/2010 page9)