Give regulations teeth

Will they work as desired?

This is the question the majority of residents will be asking about the new regulations published by the State Council to check the squandering of public money on official receptions, trips overseas and vehicles.

Unlike previous decrees, such as the 1994 regulations on the use of official vehicles and the 2006 regulations on the management of official receptions, the new regulations, which come into force on Oct 1, stipulate that even county level governments should disclose their budget and spending on receptions, vehicles and overseas trips. They also specify that officials can be demoted or dismissed from their positions if they seriously break the rules.

However, this raises the question of what constitutes a serious violation of the regulations and who decides whether a violation is serious or not. The regulations also fail to mention whether dismissed officials will be appointed to other positions.

The wording of the regulations leaves room for higher-level leaders to decide whether to demote or dismiss those guilty of serious violations.

In addition, the other punishments stipulated in the regulations, such as warnings and the recording of demerits, have proved to be of little use in deterring officials from abusing other regulations.

Local government leaders will not respect the new regulations unless power is exercised in a glasshouse for all to see.

The regulations have made some headway in this direction by requiring central and local governments to establish standards for their spending on vehicles, overseas trips and receptions. Such standards can be the yardstick for public supervision as the regulations also say the authorities should publicize their budgets and expenditures on a regular basis.

The new regulations are meant to put a brake on the misuse of public money, but they need to be given some real teeth with the establishment of a comprehensive supervisory mechanism.

Only effective supervision will ensure that governments at all levels publish as clearly as possible their spending of taxpayers' money on official vehicles, receptions and overseas trips.

(China Daily 07/11/2012 page8)