Government purchases should be transparent

That some local governments buy highways and bridges back from their operating investors and cancel the highway and bridge tolls sets a good example of serving the people. But the purchase price appraisal process and trade must be transparent to avoid embezzlement of government funds, says an article in Southern Metropolis Daily. Excerpts:

The Bingzhou city government in Shandong province recently declared exempt for local vehicles the toll of a main bridge across the Yellow River from Jan 31, after it successfully bought the property rights from Shandong Hi-Speed Group, the bridge's original owner and builder.

The price, which is as yet unkown, was assessed by the Shandong provincial institute of transportation science. The Bingzhou city government transferred the right of use of a certain area of land to the company as part of the price.

The company has collected bridge tolls for 28 years, three years past the preset tolling period already. But the toll income was not enough for the State-owned company to pay back its loans, interest and operating costs, the company claimed.

The Shenzhen government bought a section of highway from an investor for approximately 2.7 billion yuan ($446 million), 13 years before the toll period deadline set by the investor to pay back their input. The highway will be free from April 1.

With the expansion of the cities, the bridge in Binzhou and the highway in Shenzhen, which were located in suburban areas before, are now in downtown areas.

The government purchases of the bridge and highway benefit residents. But such trade must be transparent and put under close scrutiny by relevant departments and the supervision of society.

If the government purchase mechanism spreads across the country, there must be an established supervisory system to ensure no taxpayers' money is wasted in the process.