PLA orders closer checkup of units' fund management

The People's Liberation Army has told its units to tighten management of their funds and to allocate more resources to grassroots branches.

In a circular recently issued by the PLA General Logistics Department, military units were ordered to strictly oversee and control spending of funds they raised outside the annual budget or were allotted by governments, both central and local.

The department said such funds are usually used to construct buildings and conference halls and thus are prone to loose supervision as well as misuse. The move aims to ensure that military units use the funds correctly.

The department circular stipulates that such funds must be invested in fields that can strengthen the military's combat capability. Grassroots units must be the first beneficiaries of the funds, it said, adding that the money must go to constructing combat, training and living facilities and renovating older ones.

The funds cannot be spent on office buildings, entertainment establishments and commercial properties.

Infrastructure construction projects must be reviewed and approved by housing and financial departments under the PLA General Logistics Department, the document said.

The act follows a host of measures the PLA has recently meted out to curb corruption, abuse of power and misuse of funds.

The PLA put into effect on Dec 1 a set of guidelines on preventing duty crimes, elaborating on 44 fields that are likely to breed graft and other misconduct.

The PLA Daily quoted an unidentified military prosecutor as saying that more than 90 percent of criminal cases within the PLA are related to infrastructure construction, property development and equipment procurement, as well as personnel and fund management.

The prosecutor noted that such cases often involve high-ranking officials and huge amounts of money, and they have damaged the military's reputation.

In early November, the Central Military Commission placed the PLA auditing office under its direct management. The office was administered by the PLA General Logistics Department before the shift, which intended to strengthen the auditing and supervision of the PLA's economic activities.

The military also introduced in October a results-based assessment mechanism to ensure efficiency in military spending.

The mechanism will improve the military expenditure management system to maximize the output of the spending, according to the PLA General Logistics Department.

In September, the military exposed a number of irregular occupancies of PLA-owned houses and vehicles by officers, and overemployment of staff.

It asked disciplinary inspectors to "strictly and aggressively" enforce regulations and disciplines in retrieving irregularly occupied houses and cars.

"The PLA has zero tolerance for corrupt officials. We will make thorough investigations into all corruption cases in the military, no matter who is involved and whatever level the official is," Defense Ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng said at a news conference in November.