By Li Jinhua
Auditor-General of National Audit Office of China
To carry out the important thought of ¡°Three Represents¡± and implement the scientific outlook on development, we must make great efforts to solve the outstanding problems related to the vital interests of the masses, the central authorities has set before us the following task: we must seriously solve the problem of ¡°Agriculture, Rural areas and Farmers¡±, vigorously expand employment, strive to perfect the system of social security, make gradually the relations of distribution reasonable and accelerate the development of social programs. This is an important task of defending the interests of the broad masses, promoting social justice and building a socialist harmonious society. Over recent years, the state has taken a series of measures related to ¡°Agriculture, Rural areas and Farmers¡±, employment, environmental protection and social security in order to improve the conditions of people¡¯s production and livelihood. Through audit supervision, we ensue the effective implementation of these policy measures. This is an important duty of our audit offices.
Over recent years, while attaching importance to investigating and handling the big problems of violating regulations, major and important law cases in the areas of finance and economics, audit offices at all levels across the country have persisted in taking scientific outlook on development as a guide, centred on building a harmonious society, audited more vigorously the special funds related to the vital interests of the masses, paid attention to examining the situation concerning the implementation of the policy measures related to the vital interests of the masses and investigated and dealt seriously with various conducts concerning the infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of the masses.
From 2004 to 2005, National Audit Office of China had coordinated auditing and audit investigation over the funds or projects related to the use of the land of the ¡°Town of University ¡±, fee collection of institutions of higher education and hospitals, use of funds of constructions of water conservancy, projects of returning pasture to grass, projects of reconstruction of roads of counties and townships, funds of cooperative health services and etc¡.While exposing ,investigating and dealing with problems, the Audit Office, in accordance with the problems found out by auditing and investigating, had purposely put forward views and suggestions related to perfecting relevant policy measures .
In combining audit work with the central economic work at each locality, being centred on the implementation of the policy related to ¡°Agriculture, Rural areas and Farmers¡±, building of system of social security, situations related to the use of land, environmental protection and the other problems, the local audit offices had launched auditing and audit investigating the rural taxation reform,¡¡situations related to the building of health system in towns and townships, general development of agriculture, anti-poverty, relief ,disaster relief, unemployment and old-aged insurance funds, situations related to the use of state-owned land, land- transfer fee, arrears of project payment in construction areas, situations related to salary payment for labourers working on public projects in municipality, environmental protection fund and other areas. Through auditing and audit investigating, we had found ,investigated and dealt with a number of outstanding problems with regard to blocking, capturing and diverting special financial funds, and encroaching on the interests of the masses and at the same time, had played a positive role in accelerating the perfection of the relevant systems, strengthening fund management, increasing the value for fund using and other areas.
In concrete practice, some local audit offices have put forward ¡°People Orientation Audit Principle¡±. They have taken the problems in which the ordinary people are interested as the focus of audit and initiated audit being a good ¡°God of Protection¡± protecting the interests of the masses, launched purposely auditing and audit investigating some hot issues to which the masses have strong reaction, such as medical care, social security and etc¡,and made the announcement of audit findings in public and thus ,defended the interests of the masses, enhanced social tranquillity
and won approval from the ordinary people.
At present, audit work has entered into a new period of development. In accordance with proposals set forth in ¡°the Eleventh Five-Year Plan¡± and the plan drawn up by the Central Economic Working Meeting, for coming period of time, we should further strengthen audit work, continuing to take scientific outlook on development as a guide, being centred on the goal of the promotion of intensifying the macro-control, increasing the value for the use of funds of public finance, building of thrift-practised-type society and of constructing a harmonious society and etc¡.At the same time, starting from being centred on central work, serving the whole, serving development, serving ordinary people, audit offices at all levels should, combining audit work with reality, establish in earnest ¡° People Orientation Audit Principle ¡±, take great interest in issues in which the broad ordinary people are interested, strengthen auditing and audit investigating the situations regarding the use and the management of the special funds of Three Gorges project, environmental protection, social security,¡± Agriculture, Rural areas and Farmers¡± and anti-poverty and etc¡, pay attention to exposing and correcting the problems of severely violating law and regulations, great losses and waste in expenditures of public finance and etc¡, promoting the implementation of various state policy measures benefiting the people.
(Published in ¡°People¡¯s Daily¡± on February 27, 2006)