By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) pledged Monday to inspect 132 state-funded firms and their subsidiaries this year in an effort to address lax management and low productivity in the public sector.
BAI Chairman Kim Hwang-sik said the agency will focus on keeping an eye on government-funded projects and moral hazards among civil servants in 2010.
Kim noted that the BAI has launched a task force to prevent possible irregularities involving major state-run projects, including the controversial, multi-billion dollar four-river restoration program.
``The BAI has constantly monitored the progress of the four-river project since January last year and established a task force last August,’’ Kim told reporters in Seoul.
``The agency is also currently reviewing all the issues to which politicians and civic groups have raised questions.’’
Sources say that the BAI also plans to launch investigations into education gap reduction in April; job-creation in May; ``green growth’’ projects in June; childbirth promotion in September; and multicultural family support in November.
They say the agency will intensify its surveillance on public servants’ wrongdoings ahead of the June 2 elections to pick mayors, governors and council members nationwide.
The BAI is also expected to launch a task force to investigate irregularities among ranking officials this year.