Officials should be held accountable and removed from their posts for bureaucratic inaction, Premier Li Keqiang said at a State Council executive meeting on Sept 23.

During the meeting, the State Council heard a report of inspection and investigation results concerning government officials’ dereliction of duty. The Premier urged reinforced supervision and punishment to eliminate idle administration.

Government irresponsibility is sheer nonsense

Premier Li said that governmental dereliction of duty, if widely spread throughout the country, will not only jeopardize economic development, but also stain the profile of the government.

The Premier used “unbelievable” to describe the many problems discovered by the inspection team, which include unspent money, delayed public projects, idle land in areas designated for development and slow progress in rebuilding shantytowns.

“Local government officials should serve and bring benefit to the people, which is an old adage,” said the Premier. “It is sheer nonsense for them to occupy the posts with a comfortable salary only to dawdle.”

Inspection results to connect with punishment

Based on the inspection results, a first batch of 59 officials from seven provinces are being held accountable for their inaction, the State Council said, and more than 200 officials will be next.

“We should take effective measures to strengthen accountability and not cover up the mistakes,” said the Premier. “Next, the State Council will connect inspection results with punishment to ensure that government posts are held by responsible and active people.”

The State Council had retrieved 307.5 billion yuan ($48.2 billion) in unspent funds and 200,000 hectares of idle land from the control of central departments and local governments by the end of August.

“We should redirect the funds to places that demonstrate initiatives and areas that are crucial to development and people’s livelihood,” said the Premier.

Improve supervision system

During the meeting, Premier Li also highlighted the importance of an open and sound supervisory system for government inaction.

“First, we encourage self-examination; then the unsolved problems would be subject to the supervision system,” the Premier said.

“We should also publish the problems and improvement plan for the public so that they can help supervise the policy implementation,” he added.