The Sports Affairs Council (SAC) yesterday gave the Kaohsiung City Government two weeks to submit more information on how it plans to spend state-allocated funds for July’s World Games.
The council rejected the city’s proposed budget last week, accusing the city of inflating costs.
Council Deputy Minister Chen Hsien-chung (陳顯宗) said that the city government proposed spending NT$1.53 billion (US$44 million) to prepare for the Games. The city suggested the central government stump up approximately NT$943 million, with the city and the Kaohsiung Organizing Committee (KOC) raising the rest.
Chen said the council had reviewed the city’s budget plan and only approved spending of around NT$175 million.
“The city did not specify exactly what it plans to do in six of the listed projects,” he said. “We asked it to provide supplementary information by March 15.”
Chen criticized the KOC for making remarks to the press, saying this increased tension between the central and local government.
He said regulations governing the appropriation of central government subsidies to local governments have indicated that public construction and event expenses must be shared equally between the two, meaning the Kaohsiung City Government must raise half the money itself. The budget plan the city submitted last month, however, did not follow regulations, Chen said.
As examples of wastefulness, Chen said the city hosted a warm-up event for the World Games in November, but had budgeted for another warm-up event this year.
The city also said it planned to spend NT$1 million sending representatives overseas to learn from other international games.
Meanwhile, the city’s budget plan indicated that it would spend around NT$6 million “developing potential audiences for the games,” Chen said. However, the council had already given the city NT$90 million to publicize the games domestically.
Chen said that the council provided Kaohsiung City with NT$207 million for preparatory work in the last fiscal year.
The Deaflympics, to be held in Taipei in September, had only received NT$60 million, he said.
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