Govnt promotes card settlement for transparency

An undated photo shows the application form for the official business purchase card proposed by the government as part of its efforts to improve the transparency of official consumption.
July 27 - China plans to promote the use of official business purchase cards in public service institutions that operate on the central budget in a bid to increase transparency of government expenses.
Working expenditure on trips, conferences, guest entertaining, and other trivial deals less than 50,000 yuan, or 6,614 U.S. dollars, should be paid via these cards, the China News Service reported on Thursday.
At present, certain institutions are used to withdrawing and spending large sum of cash from the government budget, a practice which may lead to irregularities and even corruption, the report said.
Now with this public purchase card, all payments will be traceable. The Ministry of Finance said the cards will be used to monitor the daily business expenses and reimbursement of expenses incurred.
Moreover, the cards reduce cash payments, thus improving control of government money, the ministry said.
Starting on a trial basis, the cards will first be used this year by the Central Discipline Inspection Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, the report said.
The cards will then be expanded to all institutes that use central budgetary funds by the end of next year and to local institutes by 2010.