Photo: CFP

Issues involving 4,MK sports039 million yuan have been rectified, 248 systems have been improved and 1,200 individuals were held accountable for misappropriating special funds allocated for rural student nutrition under compulsory education, according to a report issued by the National Audit Office on Sunday.

The Audit Rectification Report shows that as of the end of September 2024, in response to the issues revealed in the 2023 audit work report, relevant localities, departments and units rectified issues involving over 538 billion yuan ($74 billion), formulated and improved over 1,300 regulations and systems through optimizing the structure of fiscal expenditures, recovering improper gains, and strengthening investigations into bribery and corruption, and held over 2,800 individuals accountable.

In the audit issues identified for the year 2023 in a work report delivered at the 10th session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, cases of misappropriated student nutrition meal subsidies were uncovered. 

In 121 counties, 237 school leaders were penalized, contracts with 147 illegal food suppliers have been terminated, funds and fines amounting to 420 million yuan were recovered. Additionally, mechanisms for supplier access and exit have been improved, and checks on food materials entering and leaving storage have been strengthened. 

In response to direct misappropriation issues, 66 counties have returned or paid overdue subsidies through original channels, totaling 1.951 billion yuan. Regarding disguised occupation issues, 41 counties and 1,533 schools have rectified problems involving funds of 270 million yuan through returning or reallocating funds after remitting to the treasury. In response to collusion to extract funds, four counties have terminated supply agreements with original suppliers or re-tendered; one county has allocated an additional 729,600 yuan to raise meal standards, compensating for the losses suffered by students.

Lin Hai, a deputy director of the Policy Research Office of the National Audit Office, said that in response to the issues identified in the audit of rural compulsory education student nutrition meals, the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and six other departments have urged to strengthen the supervision of food safety and dietary funding management in primary and secondary schools. In eight provinces, accountability has been pursued against over 380 individuals in food supply supervision departments and school staff for misconduct.

The report highlights the alarming issues surrounding rural nutrition meals; while also drawing back the curtain on the intensity of the rectifications and the number of people punished are also quite astonishing, Zhuang Deshui, a deputy director of the Research Center for Government Integrity-Building at Peking University, told the Global Times on Sunday. 

"This has created a deterrent effect at the grassroots level, reflecting the authority of audit rectifications. It also indicates that auditing is not just about identifying problems; it is more about using audits to fill gaps and identify loopholes within the system, allowing relevant departments to promptly address these issues," Zhuang said. 

This report also shows that audits are conducted in alignment with the country's major strategic deployments, as well as focusing on social hotspots and livelihood issues, the expert noted.

The report shows that as of the end of September, central departments and their affiliated units have addressed issues related to the cleanup of festival exhibitions, the cancellation of illegal training sessions, and demonstration evaluations, rectifying issues amounting to 7.43 billion yuan. By strictly managing the three public expenses, more financial resources have been freed up to promote high-quality development.

For the issue of increased burdens on grassroots levels due to festival exhibitions and forums, 21 departments and 17 provinces and cities have rectified problems involving a total of 2.27 billion yuan as of the end of September. In response to issues with approval procedures, relevant activities have been halted or abolished, and the approval methods for activities have been standardized. Regarding funding sources, illegal fees and charges have been stopped, and sponsorship fees or advances from state-owned enterprises (SOEs) amounting to 25.7919 million yuan have been refunded. Three departments have ceased the illegal external charging behaviors using data from five systems, involving an amount of 81 million yuan. Two departments have revised three data management systems to improve the data business approval process.

An official in charge of the Policy Research Office of the National Audit Office told reporters on Sunday that efforts will be further intensified to investigate major issues and strengthen the supervision of power. In response to the problems of collusion between government and business interest groups that lead to regional corruption, relevant departments will crack down on profit-seeking behaviors that rely on power, enhance the joint punishment mechanism for those engaging in bribery, and strengthen the investigations of both bribery and corruption. In regard to exploiting policy benefits to hinder the implementation of policy measures, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work with relevant departments to rigorously combat fraudulent activities by reporting units in the execution of preferential policies, such as those related to high-tech industries.

Previously identified issues such as unpaid social insurance subsidies and fictitious labor relationships to fraudulently obtain various subsidies have also been reported in the report. The report indicates that in the audit of employment subsidy funds and unemployment insurance funds, rectified issues involving 146.69 billion yuan in SOE assets, with over 80 systems improved and more than 170 individuals dealt with or punished. Nine provinces have issued social insurance subsidies totaling 190 million yuan, and 24 provinces have recovered various subsidies fraudulently obtained, totaling 130 million yuan.

The report also tracks the rectification of issues related to state-owned assets. The report revealed that in terms of SOE assets, issues involving funds of 146.69 billion yuan have been rectified. In terms of financial SOE assets, issues involving funds of 75.556 billion yuan have been rectified. In the audit of SOE assets, regarding issues of inaccurate accounting information, 22 central SOEs have rectified problems involving funds of 88.603 billion yuan through adjustments to accounts, with 41 individuals ultimately held accountable. 

Audit supervision, along with other forms of oversight, particularly disciplinary supervision, is viewed as key to achieving connection and coordination, as Zhuang put it. It is foreseeable that in the future, more efforts will be made to leverage the roles of various supervisory mechanisms, integrating audit rectification with other areas of work, such as inspections and disciplinary oversight, to form an effective supervisory network. 

Based on the report, it can be seen that the effects of audit rectification are both stable and precise. Not only does it closely align with the country's major strategic deployments, but it also addresses the core issues and the vital interests of grassroots officials, accurately identifying the root causes behind violations and preventing problems from arising at the source, Zhuang said.