JINAN, April 14 (Xinhua) -- A district in east China's Shandong Province has set up a "snail award" to cure "sloth administration."
On Saturday, the first three snail awards were given to three government organizations of Zhoucun District of Zibo City, including the district industrial and commercial bureau.
"They were awarded to organizations with the poorest service," said Sha Xiangdong, Party Secretary of the district.
"We aim to stimulate slow administrations or individuals to provide better and efficient services in the future," Sha said.
The "snail award" will be assessed every three months. Punishment will be carried out by the district supervisory body if any organization receives the award twice consecutively. Meanwhile, the award could also be rescinded for those with significant improvement.
Earlier, China rolled out a sweeping cabinet restructuring plan to cut bureaucracy and improve governance. It also introduced a nationwide supervisory commission network to toughen the fight on corruption.
