NGOs warned not to profit from poverty

More than a year after it stepped up oversight of local authorities’ use of poverty relief funds, the central government is now targeting abuse of poverty relief programs by profit-seeking NGOs.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which oversees the operations of domestic NGOs, and the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development issued a circular recently aimed at stamping out misconduct in NGOs’ poverty reduction endeavors.

It criticized organizations that exploit such programs to enrich themselves and urged more transparency in the spending of funds raised from the public.

The circular also warned of serious punishment for NGOs that embezzle money from such programs and said those suspected of criminal offenses will be handed over to the public security authorities.

Despite the warnings, the two departments reiterated their support for NGO involvement in the campaign to eradicate absolute poverty nationwide by the end of 2020.

They will coach charitable groups to make full use of tax breaks tailored for relief funds, and will instill discipline in NGOs’ relief efforts through annual checkups and evaluations, the circular said.

Qu Tianjun, a senior official who oversees nongovernmental participation in poverty relief, told a news conference in Beijing last month that government departments needed to ramp up oversight and thoroughly investigate suspicious NGOs.

Several recent cases of embezzlement of relief funds by government officials have sparked public fury.

One of the most high-profile scandals involved five officials from Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, who were sacked last year for embezzling poverty relief funds and dereliction of duty.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, the top graft watchdog, said all 15 townships in Zhangjiakou’s Kangbao county had embezzled relief and agricultural funds and the county’s disciplinary officials had failed to investigate the cases and accepted bribes.