The third account book should provide information on the portion of expenditures that went toward maintenance and operation fees. Maintenance fees amounted to 46.92 billion yuan (US$7.56 billion) in 2014, and operational and management fees amounted to 53.4 billion yuan (US$8.6 billion). Do these maintenance fees include maintenance workers' salaries? What are the major costs that fall under the category of operational and management fees? Why are the operation and management fee expenditures so high in relation to other costs? How much is the government spending on official receptions, vehicles and overseas trips? What proportion of these expenditures goes toward staff salaries? All of this information must be made clear to the public.

Road tolls have been receiving more and more attention from the public as heavy road tolls have become a major reason behind the high cost of transportation fees and logistics in China. If there are practical, real reasons that made it difficult to eliminate these tolls at present, then clear and detailed accounts must be made public so that businesses and the public can be convinced of the need for such high tolls. If this is not done, it will badly affect the government's image, as there is already much discussion about the toll road system's lavish spending, wasted money and excessive salaries and benefits for toll road staff. Open and clear account books are the only way to eliminate these concerns.

The writer is a China.com.cn news analyst.

The article was first published in Chinese and translated by Zhang Rui.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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