Audit Office: 66 counties misappropriated 1.951 billion yuan of subsidy funds for nutritious meals for rural compulsory education students

Recently, the official website of the National Audit Office released the "Report of the State Council on the Audit of the Implementation of the Central Budget and Other Financial Revenues and Expenditures in 2023" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").

Among them, the report discloses the audit of the nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students, the distribution and management of part of the transfer payment, the key counties for rural revitalization, the implementation of rural construction actions, and the stable production and supply of animal husbandry and aquatic products.

Regarding the problems found in the audit, the Audit Office suggested that it should make unremitting efforts to do a good job in the "three rural" work. Anchoring the goal of building an agricultural power, learn and apply the experience of the "Ten Million Project", scientifically plan the construction of villages in combination with local conditions, implement the responsibility of financial investment, and make up for the shortcomings of rural infrastructure and basic public services as soon as possible. Implement the action of warming the hearts of the people with heart and affection, urge the local government to consolidate the main responsibility of the nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students, and ensure that every penny goes to the students' mouths; We will firmly support the low-income population on a regular basis, strictly implement various measures to promote farmers' income increase and prosperity, and earnestly protect farmers' property rights and interests such as land contracting and collective asset income. Firmly establish the concept of big agriculture and big food, build a diversified food supply system, and ensure food safety.

66 counties embezzled 1.951 billion yuan of student nutritious meal subsidy funds

The Nutrition Improvement Program for Rural Compulsory Education Students is a livelihood project and a popular project. According to the report, the nutrition improvement plan for rural compulsory education students covers 1,567 counties in 28 provinces, benefiting 386 million students. In view of the use of funds under the plan, the Audit Office focused on auditing the subsidy funds of 23.137 billion yuan from 2021 to August 2023 in 159 counties in 13 provinces, accounting for 91% of the total subsidy amount in the selected counties in the same period.

The management and use of some subsidy funds is chaotic. Some were directly misappropriated, and 66 counties used 1.951 billion yuan to repay government debts, grassroots "three guarantees" and other expenditures. Some were squeezed out, and 41 counties and 1,533 schools intercepted and squeezed 270 million yuan in disguised form by lowering feeding standards and fictitious procurement business. Some were colluded to arbitrage, and the education departments of the five counties conspired with the winning suppliers to extract 42.1602 million yuan through supplier dividends, donations, etc., for the distribution of benefits. In addition, the audit also found that some catering units operated in violation of regulations, cutting corners and providing shoddy meals. The bidding for meal procurement and the supervision of meal supply are not standardized and strict, and the staff of relevant regulatory departments and 77 schools are suspected of bending the law for personal gain and seeking personal interests in the process of meal supply supervision.

The distribution of some transfer payments is not timely and unscientific

In terms of the management of the distribution of some transfer payments, the audit found that, first, the distribution was not coordinated and unreasonable, involving 13 transfer payments and 15 investment projects. For example, two funds, such as "afforestation subsidies" and special investment projects for "ecological protection and restoration in key areas", are used to support local forest resources. Due to the lack of coordination between the relevant departments on the review of the task volume, the afforestation tasks supported by 7 provinces and 17 counties are 235,100 mu more than the total area of afforestation and green space in these areas. Second, the issuance is not timely and unscientific, involving 8 transfer payments and 17 investment projects. For example, it was not until September 2023 that two transfer payments, such as the "subsidy for the promotion of major varieties", explicitly required the yield targets and planting records of soybeans and other crops, and the actual yield was used as the main basis for allocation. However, at this time, soybeans and other crops have been harvested, and it is impossible to supplement the planting process and verify the yield, and there is no basis for the allocation of funds, so the 1.625 billion yuan received by the eight provinces has to be carried forward.

In 27 counties, there is misappropriation of village collective financial subsidies

Consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation is the bottom-line task of promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Focusing on the task of consolidating and expanding the bottom-line task of poverty alleviation achievements and the central task of increasing farmers' income, the Audit Office focused on auditing 73 key counties for rural revitalization in 11 provinces, sampled 4,232 assistance projects with 47.921 billion yuan of funds, visited 4,187 households, and disclosed the main problems.

Monitoring to prevent the return to poverty and regular assistance for low-income people in rural areas have not been firmly implemented. 16 counties did not include 23,600 people in the scope of investigation as required; 52 counties mainly monitored income, but failed to monitor large amounts of rigid expenditures and liabilities in accordance with regulations, which affected the accuracy of monitoring, and some even set restrictions in violation of regulations in the process of assistance, and 18,300 people should be helped but not helped; 9,473 people in 50 counties were out of reality or had unrealistic results, of which 1,137 people's assistance measures did not match the causes of poverty, and 649 people were falsely reported to have completed assistance but did not actually take any measures.

In addition, the audit found that measures to increase farmers' incomes and become wealthy were not implemented or were not effective.

Rural public welfare posts, cash-for-work, and vocational skills improvement are the three important measures to promote farmers' employment and increase income, but 25 counties have turned some public welfare posts into welfare, and issued subsidies of 2,808,900 yuan to 1,893 personnel of enterprises and institutions who have not actually performed their duties; 18 counties have narrow coverage of cash-for-work, and only 48 of the 1,806 infrastructure projects implemented have adopted this method; 21 counties have illegally used 2,167 civil servants and school students to cover the training of rural households in order to complete the task. The waste subsidy was 1.5339 million yuan.

The introduction of social capital to the countryside has deviated in some places. The relevant social capital party owed 213 million yuan in arrears to 111,100 rural households in land transfer fees, and "ran away" 18.4365 million yuan of money invested by farmers, and maliciously lowered the price of agricultural products by 5.6064 million yuan.

The protection of peasants' property rights and interests is not in place. The land contracting rights of 8,598 rural households and 62 village collectives in 10 counties have not been confirmed in a timely manner, affecting normal farming. Three counties violated the law by forcibly transferring land by administrative means, infringing on the independent management rights of 941.25 mu of contracted land of 292 rural households. 6.968 billion yuan of collective assets of 69 counties and villages were poorly managed and operated, of which 50.0025 million yuan of assets in 26 counties were embezzled or used by village cadres or other villages; 27 counties forcibly collected 1.466 billion yuan of financial subsidies from 1,245 village collectives, which were mainly misappropriated to repay debts or lend money to foreign countries.

The planning of 1,783 villages did not correspond to reality

Rural construction is an important task in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and an important part of the country's modernization. The Audit Office focused on the implementation of rural construction actions in 46 counties in 16 provinces, involving 18,100 projects with a capital of 143.902 billion yuan, and found various problems amounting to 13.585 billion yuan (accounting for 9.44%).

Some village plans do not correspond to reality. There are 1,783 village plans that deviate from reality or are mere formalities, of which: part of the content of 358 village plans in 11 counties does not meet the local reality and farmers' needs, such as the planning of 36 villages in Da'an City, Jilin Province, which is prepared by a design company in Liaoning, of which 24 plans appear in Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and other places and other places and characteristic tourism, style architecture, etc., which are obviously inconsistent with the local style.

There are still weak links in rural infrastructure construction and basic public services. In terms of infrastructure, 2,761 projects with an investment of 6.929 billion yuan were idle due to lack of supporting facilities and reconstruction of light pipes, and 2,460 dilapidated houses and 4,190 dilapidated bridges and roads were not included in the scope of the survey or were not completely remediated; 415 projects in 27 counties were unfinished or demolished after completion, resulting in losses and waste of 631 million yuan, and 24 counties invested 1.123 billion yuan to paint the walls and roofs of houses along the highway to carry out image projects. In terms of basic public services, 6,595 village clinics violated the rules in diagnosis and treatment, sold and used 338,300 bottles (branches) of expired drugs and overdosed drugs beyond their authority, or did not strictly implement the medical insurance settlement system, and rural households were unable to reimburse their drug expenses normally; 7 counties illegally sold 1,404 rural cemeteries or collected funeral expenses from 95 low-income households, making a profit of 2,638,900 yuan.

The financial investment guarantee policy has not been fully implemented. Land transfer income and special bonds are the two main sources of funds for rural construction, but 29 counties have allocated 17.254 billion yuan less to support agriculture in the land transfer income; 1.045 billion yuan of the 2.09 billion yuan of special bond funds for 30 projects in 17 counties have been misappropriated to balance the fiscal budget; and 7.723 billion yuan of bond funds for 71 projects in 46 counties have been idle for a long time or the income is difficult to cover the interest.

In some places, the foundation for stable production and supply of aquatic products is weak

In terms of the audit of funds related to the stable production and supply of animal husbandry and aquatic products, the Audit Office focused on auditing the stable production and supply of pigs and aquatic products in 50 regions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and 14 provinces, involving 2,052 projects, 36.226 billion yuan of funds, and visiting 1,910 households.

There are risks in the production and supply of pigs in some places. In terms of disease prevention and control, the state requires compulsory immunization of pigs, and farmers first collect vaccines and then subsidize them by the government, but only 7.7% of large-scale farms in 7 provinces receive "first vaccination and then supplement" subsidies, which affects the cost and enthusiasm of farmers for prevention and control; The 5,713,800 ml (66%) foot-and-mouth disease vaccine purchased in 5 provinces and 7 regions was improperly stored and transported, and the risk of failure was greater. In terms of pork reserves, 17 regions in 5 provinces have lost 21,100 tons of storage in the past three years, accounting for about 70% of the storage task.

In some places, the foundation for stable production and supply of aquatic products is weak. 2 provinces and 3 regions do not use 3,343,500 mu (43%) of the sea for aquaculture, and it is estimated that the average annual reduction in aquaculture is more than 1.9 million tons; The central government invested 1.142 billion yuan to support the construction of 35 national marine ranches and 1,261 deep-sea aquaculture cages, which were not built and managed well or even idle and destroyed; In 21 regions of 7 provinces, 83,200 mu (accounting for 34%) of freshwater aquaculture ponds have not been completed in the past three years, and 119 million yuan of subsidy funds have been idle.

7,951,700 acres of cultivated land "non-grain"

In terms of the audit of state-owned natural resource assets, the National Audit Office conducted audits of natural resource assets for 9 leading cadres who left office (in office), and audited ecological protection and forestry-related funds in 8 provinces in the Yellow River Basin.

In some areas, the protection of cultivated land is not effective, and there are deviations in the implementation of tasks. Spot checks of the main grain-producing areas in five provinces and municipalities found that 7,951,700 mu of cultivated land was used for the cultivation of non-grain crops, and even hitchhiking for commercial development.

The effect of forest management and protection is not good, and the construction of forests is fraudulent. The requirements of scientific greening have not been implemented, and 15 provinces have not fully implemented the requirements of the management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand systems, and afforestation of 1,421,500 mu of cultivated land, rivers and other non-compliant plots in the past three years. The base number of afforestation achievements is unclear, and the actual amount, specific location and survival status of some afforestation achievements of the "Three Norths" shelterbelt are unclear. 18.71 million mu has been changed to cultivated land, grassland, construction land, etc. In the past three years, 13 provinces have falsely reported that the afforestation area is 1,616,700 mu. The 188 afforestation projects audited, involving an area of 2.0808 million mu and a capital of 3.895 billion yuan, were found to be fraudulent.

【Reporter】Yang Zhiming

Source: Southern Rural Daily