Vanity projects will not alleviate poverty

THE POVERTY ALLEVIATION OFFICE OF THE STATE COUNCIL, China's Cabinet, recently held direct talks with the principal officials of eight poverty-stricken counties, and urged them to stop wasting money on vanity projects. Beijing News comments:

The most noteworthy exposure by the Poverty Alleviation Office is the case of the Rucheng county government in Hunan province, which spent nearly 50 million yuan ($7.3 million) to build a city square to enhance its image, even though its debt ratio had hit 336 percent by the end of last year.

Thanks to the central government's rigorous supervision, the misuse of poverty alleviation funds has been controlled. Yet the local governments still enjoy considerable autonomy in borrowing money, and they can always invent new excuses to postpone the payment.