Accountability key to keeping miners safe China Daily Updated: 2005-11-28 05:40
We do not doubt the central government's determination to protect the safety
of more than 7 million miners in China's coal industry. After all, there's a lot
of pressure on any responsible leadership when the country's death toll of 6,027
coal miners accounted for 80 per cent of the world's total last year.
But it is worrisome that local governments' preoccupation with economic
development may hinder an on-going safety bid by the central government.
The State Council, or China's cabinet, has taken concrete steps to improve
the work safety record in the coal sector since the start of this year. It
formed the new ministry-level General Administration of Work Safety (GAWS) in
February as part of efforts to curb rampant coal mine accidents.
It then issued new safety rules for coal mines in September, ordering the
closure of illegal mines and the suspension of those that failed to meet safety
requirements. So far, more than 9,056 illegal coal mines have been closed down
and 12,990 have been suspended.
The State Council has also ordered the withdrawal of government officials'
investment in the coal industry to eliminate the corrupt practices of putting
unsafe and illegal mining under local government protection.
To ensure all these rules are complied with around the nation, the minister
of GAWS, Li Yizhong, and his deputies have toured major coal-producing provinces
over the past two months to urge on provincial officials.
However, it remains doubtful whether these efforts will finally pay off,
given some worrying signs of lax supervision at provincial and county levels.
On Wednesday, some coal-producing provinces reported that 100 per cent of
suspended coal mines had passed safety checks between November 1 and 18, in
stark contrast to a national average of 72.4 per cent for the first 10 months of
this year.
Indicating his own suspicions about the figures, Li said "it is not a good
thing" to see such a high proportion of suspended coal mines "passing" safety
checks.
He criticized certain local supervisors for their reluctance to strictly
implement the central government's policies out of fear that shutting down coal
mines would slow down local economic growth.
The minister warned that conducting safety checks in a perfunctory way
greatly threatens the central government's aim of shutting down operations with
outdated equipment and poor production conditions.
At the end of 2004, nearly 90 per cent, or 23,388, of the country's coal
mines produced only one third of China's total coal output, but killed two
thirds of the coal miners who died.
That shows why the central government was determined to launch a campaign to
close down illegal and unsafe mines as the first, but most crucial, step to
ensure work safety.
If provincial and county governments cheat there will be little chance of the
central government succeeding.
With such a life and death issue, there is no reason for the State Council to
give provincial and county governments the benefit of the doubt.
We suggest that an accountability mechanism be established immediately for
provincial and county inspectors who conduct safety checks at suspended coal
mines. Inspectors should be held directly responsible for any accidents that
take place due to poor safety in coal mines he or she has approved.
Meanwhile, GAWS should carry out spot checks at suspended coal mines that
have passed safety checks to find out if they really are up to scratch.
(China Daily 11/28/2005 page4)
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