Brazil assists lowly paid

poor families with young children will be granted extra income. The programme is to ensure that all families with children aged zero to six have a per capita income of at least US$35.
Two million families are expected to benefit. Rousseff said that the government will invest US$5 billion to provide better development for poor children. The programme also foresees an increase in the number of public daycares and kindergartens in Brazil.
According to Rousseff, by 2014, about 6 000 new daycares will have been built.
In addition, the programme will also launch actions to boost the health condition of young children, such as the distribution of iron and vitamin A supplements by the public healthcare system.
Asthma medication will also be provided free of charge.
Meanwhile, the Chinese public are demanding government departments write their budgets in a more simple and detailed manner, as they consider the financial plans are “too general” and difficult to follow, a latest survey shows.
Only 3,9 percent of the 12,006 people surveyed said they could completely understand the contents of budgets recently released by central government departments, while 84,2 percent said they found them extremely difficult to comprehend, according to a survey conducted by the China Youth Daily and carried in its Tuesday edition. Most of the people surveyed reported that the budgets were lacking in details.
Many high-investment programmes listed in these budgets mention increasing cash investment, but do not specify where the money will go, Shi Lei, a survey respondent, told the daily.
“The public are most concerned with government expenditures for government vehicles, official receptions and overseas travel.
Relevant budget items should all be clear and specified,” said Professor Deng Lianfan of the Central South University.
Shi Zhengwen, a researcher from the China University of Political Science and Law, suggested that budgets should include detailed spending on various items covered by a programme instead of only giving the gross expenditure.
If a sum of money is allocated to an education programme, for example, the budget should explain how much money will be spent on wages, housing, school buses and other items, according to Shi.
“If the budget items are detailed enough, the public can know where the money will go and how it will get there, and they will question later if they find something ‘not right,’ which will further promote financial transparency of China’s governments,” associate professor Deng Shulian with the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics said.
A government with really clear and detailed budget will be better received by the people, Deng said in the report.
According to the survey, 92,4 percent of surveyed hope China will implement a standardised, detailed format for publicising government budgets. — Xinhua.