The competition for the selection of the NABU Director reaches its final stage — interviews on the integrity and competence of candidates. On February 20, the first applicants for this important position will come to talk with the selection commission. 

Experts of Transparency International Ukraine analyzed all available public information about the participants of the competition and formed their questions to them.

Why is this competition so important to us?

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau is one of the most important elements of the anti-corruption system of Ukraine.

That is why the competition for the election of a new director of the NABU has become the most popular topic for the media and the authorities.

That is why, in its conditions for providing financial assistance to Ukraine, the EU mentions this extremely important selection. The election of a professional and honest director is a condition for the beginning of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the European Union.

In total, 21 candidates passed to the final stage of selection. According to the results of testing for knowledge of legislation and general abilities, 22 people had to pass to the interview stage, but after additional verification, the selection commission found that Ruslan Habrielian did not have enough leadership experience, so, he was not allowed to participate further in the competition.

On February 13, the Commission approved the schedules of the final stages of the competition — interviews for integrity and competence. Thus, during the integrity interviews, the commission will consider the compliance of candidates’ income with their expenses and property, the lifestyle of the candidates, the level of their professional ethics, political neutrality and other possible violations of integrity.

Transparency International Ukraine has analyzed all available information about candidates for the position of the NABU Director.

Traditionally, our experts tried to fully investigate the data that could indicate the level of integrity of the applicants, but this year, it has been much more difficult to conduct such an analysis. Since access to the register of electronic declarations is limited, the basis of our verification was the information that is publicly available and the documents published by the selection commission.

Unfortunately, these data may not fully reflect the picture of the property status of candidates, but they provide an opportunity to formulate questions for the selection commission and we hope to get a fuller picture of the candidates’ compliance with the requirements during the interviews.

However, after the first shock and the relative “normalization” of life, the first talks about the reconstruction and restoration of the country began. At that time, both the state apparatus and citizens realized: in wartime, overcoming corruption is just as important because this will be the basis for further victory, effective reconstruction, and full and rapid integration with the EU.

That is why, for all corruption fighters, there was even more work than before because war crimes added to the already familiar challenges.

On the Anti-Corruption Day, Transparency International Ukraine has decided to analyze what is happening to our state institutions, and why today we cannot forget about the intensified fight against corruption.

Why do businesses leave russia?

Of course, because the rf invaded Ukraine and has been bombing our cities for more than three weeks, destroying infrastructure and killing civilians.

However, it appears that this is not enough motivation for all companies to leave the rf, or at least to limit investment there. Why is that so? First of all because business is business. And profit is the goal of its existence.

We would very much like all companies to leave russia, just so as not to finance the war. However, sometimes there are specific reasons behind the cause.

1. Companies leave because of certain sanctions that governments impose on russia.

For example, it forced automobile companies to shut down their factories. Europe and the United States have banned the import of high-tech products into the aggressor country. As a result, automakers cannot supply parts for their plants. The same applies to most technology companies: microchips, some household appliances, and of course military equipment. 

2. Problems with logistics.

Planes do not fly. Ports are closing. Container lines CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Shipco, and Yang Ming have stopped operating in russia. It is impossible to work in the country if you cannot deliver your goods there. A great example is Uniqlo. The Japanese brand initially claimed that it would stay in russia, but then was forced to stop working there due to logistical issues.

3. Reputational losses.

This is what we work with. Public condemnation and the start of boycotts were most likely the main reasons why McDonald’s and Coca-Cola stopped operations in russia. 

However, it is worth remembering that the decision to leave is made by the head offices of companies. For example, the Ukrainian Metro, Nestlé, and Leroy Merlin have called on their parent companies to stop doing business in the russian federation since the beginning of the war. However, they are denied. The Ukrainian branch of  Leroy Merlin was even disconnected from the corporate network. The boycott of these brands in Ukraine is now unlikely to affect European companies. 

4. It becomes unprofitable to work in russia.

This is a long-term story. However, due to sanctions, the solvency of russians is declining. The economy is slowly failing. The market is becoming less promising. This excuse is unlikely to work for anyone immediately. However, if the war continues, it could become a critical factor.

How to help those who have not yet done so to make a decision?

Each of us can apply to the head offices of these companies, as well as join the social media campaign — write a post calling for businesses to leave the russian federation. In addition, it is worth urging to boycott their products or services, especially in the countries where these companies come from. 

Metro, Auchan, and Spar supermarket chains, the Subway food outlets, the Decathlon stores, the Oriflame cosmetic brand are still fully operational in russia. 

Let’s help them make a decision!

It’s obvious to us, but…

There are protocols, there are lawyers, and there is responsibility. The responsibility that russia will bear for everything that it is currently doing in Ukraine.

For the thousands of civilians killed, for high-explosive bombs, for lies, provocations, humanitarian catastrophes, damage caused, and for encroaching on our independence.

What russia has already violated:

Charter of the United Nations, clause. 4, art. 2.

All UN members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

Yes, russia (for some reason?) is a member of the United Nations.

The Hague Convention on the outbreak of hostilities, art. 1 

Hostilities shall not commence without prior and express warning in the form of either a motivated declaration of war or an ultimatum with a conditional declaration of war.

Nothing clear was heard either from putin in his speech or from other representatives of the russian federation. The war began early in the morning, as did World War II.

Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, art. 48

To ensure respect for and protection of civilians and civilian objects, parties to a conflict must always distinguish between civilians and combatants, as well as between civilian and military objects, and accordingly direct their actions only against military objects.

Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, art. 25

It is prohibited to attack or bombard unprotected cities, villages, residential buildings, or structures in any way.

As of March 9, according to military and civil administrations, as a result of hostilities, russian troops destroyed 312 objects and partially 1,662 buildings of critical infrastructure in Ukraine. Among them are 40 educational institutions, 20 health care institutions, more than 1,300 residential buildings. In addition, 806 settlements have been completely or partially de-energized.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, clause 1, art. 3

Persons who do not take an active part in hostilities … are to be treated humanely, without any hostile discrimination. Violence against life and personality, including all types of murder, mutilation, ill-treatment, and torture, is prohibited against the abovementioned persons.

We already know about the deaths of thousands of civilians, of which more than 70 are children.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 18

Civilian hospitals organized to provide care to the wounded, the sick, the disabled, and expectant mothers cannot under any circumstances be the target of attack, they are always to be respected and protected by the parties to the conflict.

This is: the shelling of the hospital and maternity hospital in Mariupol, the shelled hospital in the city of Popasna, the destroyed hospital in Izium, and many others.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 40 

The occupying state shall not have the right to compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 51

If the persons are citizens of the opposing state, they can be involved only in such types of forced labor, the performance of which is necessary to provide food, housing, clothing, transport, and health of people and which are not directly related to the conduct of military operations.

In 8 years of occupation, russia has been calling up the inhabitants of the occupied Crimea into its army. And before the beginning of the full-scale war in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, they launched “general mobilization” and sent local troops to fight against Ukraine as part of the russian troops.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 49

It is prohibited, for whatever reason, to carry out the forced individual or mass transfer or deportation of protected persons from the occupied territory to the territory of the occupying state or to the territory of any other state, whether it is occupied or not.

Russia systematically disrupts the evacuation of civilians, which is carried out by the Ukrainian authorities. At the same time, the kremlin offered its “evacuation” routes directed to its territory and towards friendly Belarus.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 53

Any destruction by the occupying state of movable or immovable property that is the individual or collective property of private persons or the state shall be prohibited, except as necessary for the conduct of military operations.

There are many examples, it is both movable property of Ukrainians, and their houses, and other civilian objects. To be specific, we will mention the hangar with the civilian aircraft Mriya, which the occupiers burned, and the damaged Kyiv TV tower as a result of enemy missiles hitting it.

Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, art. 61

The distribution of relief consignments should be facilitated and controlled by the patron state. This responsibility may be transferred to a neutral state, the International Committee of the Red Cross, or any other independent humanitarian organization.

Let us remember how the occupiers tried to distribute humanitarian assistance in Kherson.

Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land, art. 28

Looting in the city or area, even if it was stormed, is prohibited.

There is plenty of video and audio evidence of looting by the russian military.

The crimes of the occupiers may be investigated by:

• The European Court of Human Rights It has already rendered a judgement twice, in which it ordered the rf to stop attacks and bombardment of civilian objects in Ukraine. Russia ignores them, which will deepen its guilt in the future.
• The International Criminal Court in The Hague investigates and prosecutes war criminals who do not stand trial in individual countries; it is the heir to Nuremberg which enshrined the principle that states can agree to the establishment of a special court for the protection of international law.

The prosecutor of the court Karim Khan has already instructed his prosecutors to conduct an investigation and collect evidence, the first investigators are already visiting Ukraine.

• The UN International Court of Justice, also in The Hague (resolves disputes between states but cannot prosecute individuals; if it decides against russia, the UN Security Council should enforce this decision).

Their powers in investigating russia’s crimes depend in particular on politics and diplomacy. It is likely that a one-time tribunal will be set up for this purpose. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and leading international lawyers have already presented a declaration on the establishment of the tribunal. This will take time and will require the solidarity of countries, but this is the optimal way, experts are convinced.

P.S. If you witnessed or found evidence of war crimes of russia, send it to Ukrainian law enforcement through a special website.

When it comes to the field of school education, the community is usually sympathetic: teachers’ salaries are small, and the state allocates nothing — schools have nothing. That is why there is a need for financial assistance. And it is still not uncommon for parents to chip in for either lockers or curtains in the classroom; or chip in to buy multimedia equipment, promoting it through the draft participatory budget. And they almost certainly buy elementary items on their own: toilet paper, soap, napkins, disinfectants.

The explanation for all this is “the state has no funds” or “the district does not allocate funds.” However, active parents, especially those who have passed the school of experience exchange of the Parents SOS community, know that in reality the situation is a little different. Frequently, the district department of education does not allocate funds for what they are not forced to allocate. Not everywhere, of course, but there is such a practice: if the use of a subvention for the “New Ukrainian School” is talked about, then procurement according to it (special desks, other furniture, construction kits, multimedia equipment) is carried out in full and on time. And those expenditure items that are not in the focus of public attention are formed at the discretion of a specific head of the district department of education (DDE) or school.

And it turns out that somewhere the parents of students have long forgotten what it is to buy curtains and soap for school, and somewhere the cleaner asks the parent committee to buy new mops. Because — “and whom else to ask, the state does not give anything.”

In fact, spending on education in the budgets of local communities is not only a large sum, but also quite protected items of expenditure. For example, in the capital, the budget of the education sector is sometimes up to half of all expenditures (in 2021 — UAH 24.7 billion — 43% of all expenditures). And it depends on the district management, education department and local MPs how these funds will be distributed outside the main items (utilities, remuneration, food procurement, textbooks).

For example, last year, when the pandemic drastically changed the usual order of priorities, the district education departments had to urgently purchase masks, disinfectants, and then laptops and Internet services for teachers who worked remotely. The number and volume of these procurement transactions were decided locally, depending on the schools’ order and real needs.

And Darnytskyi district of Kyiv in the midst of the second wave of the covid incidence in the autumn of 20th decided to install children’s playgrounds in each school. The project was even shown to the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Serhii Shkarlet and called part of the NUS project “Street Space.”

The concept of the New Ukrainian School really involves more activity of primary school students and the presence of creative spaces. However, nothing is known about the separate project “Street Space.”

The playgrounds were purchased for UAH 20.6 mln. The specification to the contract refers to 38 schools, but each element was bought in the number of 15, and the Ministry of Education and Science wrote that they were installed in 15 educational institutions. Accordingly, each cost the local budget from UAH 500,000 to UAH 1.37 mln (more likely). For comparison, last year, the DOZORRO specialist Yaroslav Pylypenko analyzed the costs of Kyiv for the installation of playgrounds and sports grounds in the surrounding areas, and their average cost was less than UAH 100,000. Of course, the playgrounds are different, but why schools need such expensive ones is a good question.

The purchase of platform equipment itself was carried out with the minimum possible savings: the tender with an expected value of UAH 20.7 mln was won by the supplier, who offered a price of UAH 20.62 mln. Interestingly, the winner of the auction was TOV Budremservice, which specializes more in the renovation of premises. In Kyiv, this company won tenders from Kyivzelenbud, the Darnytskyi Department of Capital Investments and the Department of Education of the same district. It has experience in working with playgrounds, however, it is its first such a big order of playgrounds and at the same time so far the most expensive contract in Prozorro.

To clarify what mandatory program made it so expensive to arrange the street space of schools last year, we contacted the Department of Education and Science of the KCSA. There, they have no knowledge of any program and explained that decisions on the procurement of the district are made locally. We also asked other districts of the capital whether they had similar systemic procurement of playgrounds for the NUS, and received negative answers.

The Department of Education of Darnytsia district also confirmed that the playgrounds are not related to the NUS. The funds for their procurement went under the budget line “Provision of secondary education by secondary education institutions.” That is, these are the usual funds for the organization of the educational process. This year, the district decided that it was most appropriate to use UAH 20 mln for the playgrounds, rather than any other expenditures.

In general, the district department of education can be understood — the playgrounds are almost a sacred object: everyone wants them and there is never a lot of them. However, it turned out that the mandatory installation of numerous playgrounds is not always a good thing. Especially when no one asked them to.

In one school of the district, a place for a large playground, where children will spend time, was found only under the fence near the street with lively traffic. In other schools, the slides and tools were placed on the lawns between the trees, close to the windows of the classes, contrary to the norms of the National Construction Regulations. In the Slovianska school, such a slide led straight to the wall of the school and a sewer hatch, or a lightning rod. After a scandal in local communities and an appeal to the head of the district education department, some of these dangerously installed playgrounds were simply removed, where to — it is unknown.

The school No. 111, where extended day groups have nowhere to spend time at all, got no playground at all. And two schools of the district got playgrounds, both according to the purchase of the district education department and within the implementation of the participatory budget project.  That is, to put it mildly, confusion and installation for the sake of installation.

As we have already mentioned, often for cities, playgrounds are the golden standard. However, when it comes to education, the priorities are still slightly different: schools usually need insulation, repairs, arrangement, or repair of sports halls and playgrounds for physical education. But these things take longer to plan, are harder to implement, and require construction supervision and a lot of responsibility.  Just like providing schools with toilet paper/soap/disinfectants/mops requires calculations of school applications, additional orders, etc. The installation of playing complexes — where they are needed, and where not so much — is quick and easy: a month of work — and UAH 20 mln gets spent at the end of the budget year.

What can parents do about it? To control what the school where your child is studying buys, you can start monitoring their procurement.  TI Ukraine created a handbook with instructions how to do this. It describes in detail how to search for school procurement transactions, in particular using the map “What your school buys,” write information requests, and report procurement violations to law enforcement and supervisory bodies.

Today, everyone can talk about corruption, but not everyone dares to act on it. Some succumb to stereotypes and consider themselves “snitches” or “informers,” others do not find guarantees that would ensure full protection of their rights. Oleksandr Kalitenko, legal advisor to TI Ukraine, told what the meaning of the term “whistleblower” is, how the law protects their rights, why it is possible to expose not only corruption, and much more in the first series of the special project #Whistleblowers by “Rubryka.”

Photo by Mykola Tymchenko, Rubryka

In international and the Ukrainian law, the concepts of “whistleblowers” are different. According to the international concept, it is a person who provides information that is detrimental to the public interest, such as traffic safety violations. In Ukraine, it is limited to corruption, i.e., the whistleblower is only the person who informs about possible facts of corruption or corruption-related offenses.

Anyone can be a whistleblower: both a water utility worker who reports untreated tap water and a waiter who reports stale fish that can result in the poisoning of visitors. However, only with guaranteed protection do people dare to testify.

Therefore, it is important to build the foundation of the institution of whistleblower, and this is precisely the broad definition. It is also crucial to disseminate it to all citizens in accordance with the best international standards and practices. And this is not only about corruption, but also about other socially important things.

Photo by Mykola Tymchenko, Rubryka

Recent opinion polls suggest that the share of ordinary citizens who feel responsible for fighting corruption is declining. Much more responsibility lies with the President, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, anti-corruption bodies, and so on. And this is what we need to work on, including the formation of zero tolerance for corruption.

We have long been waiting for changes in the legislation that would improve the security not only of those who expose high-profile corruption, but also at a lower level. It concerns administrative offenses, for example. Another point is that whistleblowers who report a state secret need much more protection than they currently have. A person who discloses such sensitive information as a state secret in the interests of society must be sure that they will receive the necessary protection. We currently have gaps in this regard.

The full interview with Oleksandr, as well as the opinion of Andrii Biletskyi, administrative director of the ACREC Anti-Corruption Research and Education Centre, can be read at the link.

Let us remind you that the law on the protection of whistleblowers has been in force in Ukraine since January 1, 2020. This year, we celebrated the second anniversary of its entry into force and dwelled on what changed and what did not.

In January, the first stage of selection of suppliers for the construction of the Great Ring Road around Kyiv took place. This road is to connect the largest cities of the oblast and important routes in a semicircle about 150 km long. The project also includes a new bridge across the Dnipro.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Ukravtodor have made considerable efforts to ensure that this procurement is not carried out in the Prozorro system. Initially, the Verkhovna Rada excluded all costs related to the KRR from the scope of the law on procurement. And then the Cabinet of Ministers actually created a new, separate procedure for national bidding.

They argued that Ukravtodor wanted to sign a contract with the EPC-F contractor based on the results of the procurement. This form of contract stipulates that a general contractor is selected for all the works, who both develops the project and carries out the work, and, most importantly, looks for a creditor for all this.

The Prozorro alternative was hastily created based on the commercial bidding platform playtender.com.ua. In December, the procuring entity placed the tender documentation for the first part of the ring road from the “Varshavska” highway M-07 to “Zhytomyrska” M-06 18 km long. The starting price is a lot — UAH 5.4 bln.

However, this procurement does not involve the conclusion of an EPC-F contract. It is only for the part of the work. At the same time, the tender documentation is not about designing or raising funds. Why then purchase outside of Prozorro?

In January, the first stage of selection of suppliers for this procurement began — the expression of interest.

At this stage, participants could provide their applications and information about themselves, according to requirements of the procuring entity. The procuring entity had to evaluate the documents and determine which of the participants would go to the next stage.

Roughly the same thing is happening at the stage of consideration of bids of participants in Prozorro. Based on the results of this stage, the procuring entity allows or does not allow the participant to take part in the auction.

The main difference of еру Ukravtodor procedure is that any actions of the procuring entity cannot be contested.

If a procuring entity makes a wrong or illegal decision in the Prozorro system, a participant has the right to apply to the AMCU Board — an independent institution. Instead, in the procedure invented by Ukravtodor and the Ministry of Infrastructure, the word of the procuring entity is the final one and is not subject to appeal.

It became clear from the first time, what trouble it involves.

5 participants applied for the announced tender in the alternative Prozorro system: Turkish ONUR and TAŞYAPI, Ukrainian Rostdorstroi and Highway South, and American Bechtel.

In the first round, the procuring entity disqualified two participants — TAŞYAPI and Rostdorstroi. The latter was rejected, allegedly because of not providing a bank guarantee of the bidder.

However, the company appealed to the procuring entity to cancel the decision because it did provide this document.

In response, the procuring entity stated that the bank guarantee file was indeed submitted, but officials were unable to open it:

“During the inspection by the Tender Committee of the tender bid provided as part of your tender proposal, the absence of a document confirming the provision of the Bank Guarantee was revealed. The file in the archive entitled “Guarantee 1314.pdf.p7s.p7s” is downloaded as a qualified electronic signature, i.e., the Procuring Entity does not have the opportunity to read the full text of the Bank Guarantee. In addition, your bid does not contain any clarification letters regarding the algorithm for opening this type of document for proper study.”

In fact, everything is simple — the file contains a false double extension (it says .p7s.p7s twice). Most likely, it happened for technical reasons during the preservation and, perhaps, not through the fault of the participant. Opening this file is simple: you need to change its extension (rename it). However, the procuring entity could not or did not want to do it.

 

Rostdorstroi Bank Guarantee File

Accordingly, the participant was disqualified on a rather formal and ambiguous basis in the bidding for UAH 5 bln. On the one hand, the procuring entity is not obliged to change the extension of the file submitted by the participant to open it. On the other hand, the participant submitted the document, and there was an opportunity to open it. If it was an auction in Prozorro, the participant could appeal the procuring entity’s actions with the AMCU. However, in the alternative version of public bidding, there is no such option.

Neither is there an option for the State Audit Office to monitor procurement. The fate of the bidding relies entirely on the conscience of the procuring entity — and this is hardly the best option.

Even if we assume that suddenly the officials of the procuring entities became honest and fair in public procurement, controversial issues cannot be completely avoided. And they objectively need a third party and its independent and consistent point of view. In fact, the main difference between the alternative Prozorro and is that there will be no third party. The decision of the procuring entity’s officials will be the final one. And this will lead to even more lawsuits on violations of the rights of participants, as well as grave consequences if the court takes the side of the participants. What to do if such a decision was made when the procuring entity completed the procurement transaction and signed a contract with another participant? And if this winner has already started working? The procurement procedure must be re-announced if the previous contract is declared invalid. However, it is partially implemented, so we have to figure out how to close what has been done and buy the rest of the works. At the same time, penalties are possible.

The next stage of Ukravtodor’s special procurement began on February 1. Here, the procuring entity will evaluate the experience and qualifications of the participants. Accordingly, not all three remaining participants can reach the third round.

The most interesting thing is that the contract will be concluded, even if only one participant will be able to pass all the stages of procuring entity’s selection. According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers, the bidding is considered unsuccessful only if all participants are disqualified.

The list of grounds for declaring the bidding unsuccessful in the alternative Prozorro system is as follows:

– the absence of submitted proposals;

– rejection of all proposals before the third stage;

– no further need for selection;

– impossibility of selection due to force majeure, the occurrence of which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry;

– failure to conclude a contract due to the fault of the winner.

That is, unlike Prozorro, there is no requirement for a minimum of two participants and a competitive auction.

Using this approach, public procurement can become a purely formal and complex process. The participant must pass three rounds of evaluation by the procuring entity, each containing risks of errors or violations by the procuring entity that cannot be contested. As a result, many procurement transactions will be completed at the expected cost with a single finalist. Is such a procedure competitive?

It is unclear what the benefits of using a non-transparent system are. So far, no EPC-F contracts have been concluded based on the results of the procurement. It is clearly not faster, it is definitely not simpler, not more transparent. It does not solve the problem of contesting the bidding. Participants will still contest the actions of the procuring entity — but in court. And this will have much worse consequences: with the termination of contracts, penalties. Instead, this system simply destroys the basic principles of public procurement — competition and protection of the rights of participants and the interests of the country.

The only ones who really like the idea of bidding outside of Prozorro are the procuring entities. They can get virtually unlimited rights, and will determine the fate of public funds at their discretion. So far, we are talking about only one large object worth over UAH 80 bln and one large procuring entity — Ukravtodor. However, very soon, the alternative Prozorro may get a much larger mandate.

At one time, Cinema “Kyiv” became a favorite place of those who are now over 30. Festival films, convenient location in the center of the capital, special atmosphere.

However, in 2019, everything changed. Despite having a new tenant, “Kyiv” was closed, and so far, it does not bring any benefit to citizens, nor money to the capital’s budget.

Let’s figure out why this happened, and how to open the doors of your favorite cinema again.

Backstory

“Kyiv” is one of the oldest cinemas in the city, which has been functioning since 1952. Since 1992, the building has been in municipal ownership and is a monument of architecture and urban planning.

For twenty years until 2019, the premises were leased to the company Cultural Center “Cinema Kyiv.” At this time, the cinema really turned into a cultural center, showed (non-)commercial screenings of author’s films and specialized in festival activities.

It was there that the audience could enjoy the films at the festivals Molodist, Docudays UA, and others.

Low rent

However, behind the light of movie screens there was a problem — rent. The lessee paid only a meager UAH 47,000 per month for the use of the building of more than 7,000 sq. m. In January 2019, the city authorities refused to extend the agreement, which expired. After all, rental income is not marketable.

And although the previous lessee was allegedly ready to pay more, in April 2019, a competition was held. The winner was the “Cinema-Center” company (which owns a network of cinemas “Cinema City”), having offered the highest amount — UAH 2.1 mln per month.

The former lessee did not take part in the competition and refused to hand over the building to the winner. The company considered that the Kyiv authorities had not properly notified the termination of the lease and had violated the preemptive right to enter into a lease for a new term, as a result of which they had to go to court.

Recently, the Economic Court of Appeal denied the claim of the Cultural Center “Cinema Kyiv” to declare the original lease agreement extended and the agreement with the new tenant invalid.

As a result, in June 2021, the city authorities, together with the municipal guard (whose creation and activities we have already discussed) forcibly made the management and staff of the Cultural Center leave the premises, which led to a wave of protests.

Activists who are not indifferent to the fate of the cinema were worried not only about the continuation of its work, but also about maintaining the profile — showing non-commercial and festival films.

This was partially achieved in the contract with the new lessee. Thus, the lessee undertook to promote Ukrainian cinema (at least 30% of the total repertoire), to ensure the continuation of work in the format of a festival center, to pay attention to educational and children’s programs (some events are charitable).

New lessee — new (old) problems

However, after the agreement with a new lessee has been signed, there is still no audience in “Kyiv” — the cinema has not resumed its work. Cinema–Center reports that the building is in a state of disrepair, so it is unsuitable for film screenings and needs major repairs.

In August 2019, the lessee applied to the Office of Communal Property and ME Kyivkinofilm to approve major repairs at the expense of “Cinema–Center,” offering to pay UAH 570,000 rent per month, crediting the remaining amount (UAH 1.53 mln) for the invested repairs.

The city authorities refused; the lessee has the right to credit the cost of repairs to the rent only once, not monthly.

In total, the community of Kyiv received UAH 11.6 mln from the last lessee. In December 2019, a commission of the Office of Communal Property drew up an act and suspended the contract due to the inability to use the cinema for its intended purpose. The funds were no longer credited to the account.

In January 2020, the Kyiv Administrative Court decided to completely shut down the cinema and disconnect the premises from electricity. The reason is an unscheduled inspection of the State Emergency Service, which identified 48 violations of fire safety. Only in July 2020, did the lessee apply and approve the draft of accident-prevention works in the “Kyiv” cinema.

On October 13, 2021, the prosecutor’s office served the director of the Office of Communal Property department, his first deputy, and the director of Kyivkinofilm with charges of negligence. This is a potential illegal exemption of the “Cinema-Center” from rent, as a result of which the budget of Kyiv has not received funds for rent amounting to UAH 22 mln.

As of December 2021, the cinema is still empty and, according to the Office of Communal Property, “Cinema-Center” is not carrying out any works there.

What is to be done?

Recently, the owner of TOV “Cinema–Center” stated that he was not ready to invest in the cinema until the consideration of the case is completed in court. And this can take years.

It would seem that the simplest option is to terminate the lease or reject it. However, it’s not that simple.

Early termination of the lease agreement is possible in court or with the consent of the parties. It is unlikely that the lessee will refuse such a tempting asset in the center of the capital, for which they have already paid more than UAH 11 mln.

The only reason for unilateral termination of the contract is non-payment of rent for three consecutive months. However, the lessee is protected by an act that suspends the calculation of rent from December 1, 2019.

Billions of hryvnias from budgets are spent not only on roads, but also on vehicles to drive on them: school buses, emergency vehicles, public and other transport. The most interesting things relate to procurement of automobiles: not everyone can resist the temptation to buy an expensive car at the expense of the budget. Therefore, we looked into what automobiles were the most expensive in Prozorro in 2021, and which brands were bought the most. We also checked how individual government agencies replenished their fleets.

In 2021, 4,970 automobiles for UAH 3.6 bln were purchased in Prozorro. This is twice as much as in 2020. Most actively, government agencies were interested in cars in September-November. It was during these three months that they announced 46% of all tenders for cars.

The most popular models 

Most often, government procuring entities purchased Renault Duster. This is a compact and fairly budget-friendly crossover-SUV that can drive both on ordinary roads and on not too tricky overland. This year, 1,221 such cars were purchased, or 24.6% of the total number. National Police bought most Renault Duster cars in Prozorro — 575. Most of them are special-purpose automobiles; they are additionally equipped with an LED panel with flashing lights, a loudspeaker, a radio station for walkie-talkies, and a safe.

The second most popular model was Toyota Corolla. 291 such cars were purchased in a year. The National Police also purchased Toyota Corolla frequently — a total of 250 cars. The Poltava City Council purchased 7 Toyota Corolla cars, and the Prosecutor General’s Office — 6.

Mitsubishi L200 cars came third in terms of sales in Prozorro. In total, 242 of these all-wheel-drive pickups were purchased in 2021. This is the only car model from the top five that was most often purchased, not for police officers. The State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine increased its fleet by 57 Mitsubishi L200 cars: in November, it purchased 37 cars for the protection of hunting grounds, 20 cars more were bought it in December. 54 Mitsubishi L200 cars were also acquired by TOV Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine. 

The fourth place in the popularity of cars in Prozorro was taken by the Kia Sportage model. 220 such cars were bought for government agencies. Again, most of the cars were purchased by the National Police — 147 crossovers. 10 Kia Sportage cars were bought for the SBU and PrAT Ukrhydroenergo, another 6 — for the prosecutor’s office.

The fifth comes Ford Transit, 209 of these cars were purchased. Among them are 65 special-purpose vehicles of the National Police, 60 armored tactical cash-in-transit vehicles of AT Oschadbank and 45 special-purpose vehicles of the National Guard of Ukraine.

5 Most Expensive Cars of 2021

Mercedes-Benz V-Class AVANTGARDE — UAH 3.3 mln
The centralized procurement organization of the Odesa regional council purchased Mercedes-Benz V-Class AVANTGARDE for the automobile enterprise for servicing the Odesa regional council and the regional state administration. This car managed to become a part of the rating almost at the last moment — the contract for it was signed on December 28. Although three participants entered the tender, none of them lowered their initial price during the auction. The procuring entity paid more than UAH 3.3 mln for a minivan with a 2-liter diesel engine and a capacity of 238 horsepower, which allows it to accelerate to a speed of 100 km/h in 6.4 seconds. Inside, it is decorated with Nappa leather, has luxury seats in the rear of the cabin, a Burmester surround sound system, a center console with a built-in refrigerator compartment, a sliding panoramic roof, and an MBUX multimedia system. On the dealer’s website, the price of such a car starts from UAH 3 mln.

We called the procuring entity to find out why they needed such a luxury car. However, the automobile company agreed to respond only after an official written request.

Toyota Land Cruiser — UAH 2.8 mln
PrAT Ukrhydroenergo bought a Toyota Land Cruiser 300 for the “Directorate for the construction of the Dniester PSPP.” The first show of this car took place in mid-2021. The car has all-wheel drive, a 3.4-liter gasoline engine with 415 horsepower, leather seats with perforations, a JBL speaker system with an amplifier and 14 speakers (with a subwoofer), as well as a multimedia system with a 12.3-inch color multi-function touch screen.

By the way, the construction of the Dniester PSPP was excluded from competitive bidding.

Volkswagen t6.1 Multivan – UAH 2.4 mln
In November, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine acquired two Volkswagen T6.1 Multivan UAH 2.4 mln each. The cars have 2-liter diesel engines with a capacity of 199 horsepower, all-wheel drive. Other features: Savona leather seat upholstery, Titanium Black color, Discover Media navigation system 20.3 cm with color TFT screen and Touchscreen function.

In November, AT Ukrtransnafta purchased almost the same car — Volkswagen T6.1 Multivan highline. It cost the company UAH 2.2 mln. 

Ford Ranger – UAH 1.9 mln
Three pickups for UAH 1.9 mln each were purchased by the state specialized enterprise Pushcha North. The cars have 2-liter engines with a capacity of 213 horsepower, all-wheel drive. By the way, this very the company tried to buy a Toyota Land Cruiser 150 Prado for UAH 1.7 mln at the beginning of 2021. The procuring entity justified the purchase by the need to have a forest patrol car because agricultural land in the Chernobyl zone is constantly under threat of fires. Then the purchase was canceled due to public exposure.

Volkswagen Touareg — UAH 1.8 mln
This car was purchased by the Security Police Department in the Dnipropetrovsk oblast. It has a 3-liter diesel engine with a capacity of 231 horsepower, all-wheel drive. The front panel, doors, and center console of the car are decorated with natural Silver Birch wood, in addition, it has a Vienna ErgoComfort leather interior. Front seats have a massage function, active air conditioning, and 14-position electric adjustment.

Unusual cars in Prozorro

Hyundai Staria
In September,  a multifunctional wagon car STARIA by Hyundai started selling in Ukraine. The company describes the car quite poetically: “Mimicking the simplified shape of a spaceship, the STARIA’s exterior is inspired by a light line that illuminates the Earth’s horizon at sunrise when viewed from space.”

Probably, government procuring entities also love modern futuristic cars, since in 3 months of last year they purchased 14 brand-new Hyundai Staria cars through Prozorro. Depending on the configuration, the price for such cars varies from UAH 1.1 to 1.5 mln. In particular, Hyundai Staria is a part of the fleet of the Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine, ME of the Vasylkiv city council “Shelter for persons affected by gender-based domestic violence, “Kyiv City Center for Gender Equality, Prevention, and Counteraction to Violence, Ukrzaliznytsia,  Department of education of the Svitlodarsk city military-civil administration.

Electric Hyundai IONIQ
In addition to the already familiar Nissan Leaf electric vehicles, in 2021, Hyundai IONIQ was also purchased through Prozorro. According to our calculations, 5 such electric cars were purchased.

According to the official dealer, the new Hyundai IONIQ Electric provides 311 km of electric travel on a single charge. It is likely that economy and concern for the environment encourages procuring entities to buy electric cars.

The Ministry of Finance of Ukraine purchased 2 Hyundai IONIQ cars: Premium configuration cost UAH 900,000, while TOP configuration cost UAH 1.2 mln.  Another such electric car was purchased by Khmelnytskyi NPP and SE Derzhavtotrans NDIproyekt.”

New Suzuki Jimny
The fourth generation of Suzuki Jimny, the legendary SUV from Japan, was introduced back in 2018. Although already in 2020, in some EU countries, Suzuki Jimny stopped selling due to non-compliance of the level of CO2 emissions with European environmental standards.

This small, light, and maneuverable car is adapted to overcome even extreme conditions. Probably, it was the off-road characteristics of the Suzuki Jimny that interested Ukrainian procuring entities. In 2021, 14 such SUVs were purchased through Prozorro, and all of them were purchased by national forestry enterprises. In particular, Suzuki Jimny replenished the fleet of the Krasnopillia, Luhyny, Ovruch, Sumy, and other forest farms. The cost of the car, depending on the configuration, was UAH 610,000–670,000.

A car for vaccination
To encourage people to get vaccinated, at least several cities organized a prize draw among those vaccinated. In Mukachevo and Vinnytsia, local authorities decided to go to even further lengths — in both cities, the main prize was a car.

In Mukachevo, it was a 2021 Renault Duster. It cost the city council UAH 400,000. In Vinnytsia, even more was spent on a car for the drawing. There, local authorities paid UAH 680,000 for a Toyota Corolla. The drawing in Vinnytsia was not without suspicion because the son of a local judge won the car.

Who purchased the most cars?

National Police of Ukraine
The National Police and its regional units come first in this rating. In 2021, they bought 1,321 cars for UAH 820 mln. For the most part, these are specialized vehicles fit with additional equipment. The most popular models were the Renault Duster, Toyota Corolla, Kia Sportage, Peugeot 301, and Ford Transit. Toyota Camry, Suzuki SX4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Nissan Leaf, and other cars were also purchased for police officers.

Security Service of Ukraine
 The SBU and its regional units bought 250 cars for UAH 202 mln. In particular, they acquired 65 Toyota Rav4 cars and 50 Hyundai Tucson cars (23 all-wheel drive crossovers and 27 front-wheel drive cars). Other car brands were also bought in oblasts. For example, the SBU Department in the Lviv oblast purchased a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport for UAH 1.2 mln and Skoda Kodiaq sportline for UAH 1.2 mln. The SBU Department in the Kharkiv oblast bought Subaru Forester for UAH 1.3 mln and Toyota Hilux for UAH 1.2 mln.

Ministry of Justice of Ukraine
The fleet of the Ministry of Justice and its regional units has increased by 154 vehicles this year. It cost the Ministry UAH 70 mln.  Most often, Citroen C-elysee was purchased — 52 cars, almost all of them were ordered by the ministry itself.

State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine
In 2021, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine purchased 59 vehicles for UAH 58.6 mln. 57 of them are Mitsubishi L200 all-wheel drive pickups. They conducted 2 procurement transactions: in September and in October. Moreover, the Agency purchased an all-wheel drive Peugeot Fl3008 for UAH 1.6 mln for technical support of hunting grounds protection and Hyundai Staria for UAH 1.5 mln.

State Bureau of Investigation
The State Bureau of Investigation, together with its regional units, spent UAH 41 mln on 45 cars. The most expensive items in their fleets were 4 all-wheel drive Volkswagen Transporter T6 UAH 1.7 mln each and Ford Transit Kombi for UAH 1.2 mln. Mazda 6 and hybrid Toyota Camry cost UAH 1 mln each, respectively.

Fleet depot of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
The fleet of the Verkhovna Rada increased by 38 vehicles worth UAH 36 mln. A Toyota Camry was purchased most often in the comfort configuration — 32 cars for UAH 852,000 each, however, there are also more expensive versions. For example, there are 2 of the same Toyota Camry, only in the Premium + configuration, worth UAH 1.2 mln each. 2 more Toyota Land Cruiser Prado and 2 more Toyota Proace Verso cars were purchased — UAH 1.4 mln each, and UAH 1.6 mln each, respectively.

Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (also known as military unit K1410) bought 34 cars worth UAH 31 mln. Its most expensive cars were two Volkswagen T6.1 Multivan UAH 2.4 mln each, two Volkswagen T6.1 Kombi UAH 1.7 mln each, two 2.7-liter diesel Toyota Land Cruiser Prado UAH 1.5 mln each, and one 4-liter petrol Toyota Land Cruiser Prado worth UAH 1.4 mln.

Prosecutor’s office
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine and its regional units have increased their fleet by 37 vehicles, spending more than UAH 22 mln. Interestingly, all of them bought cars, the cost of which did not exceed UAH 600,000 per unit. For example, the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office purchased two used Toyota Camry 2017 with a mileage of up to 70,000 km, one in June, the other one in November.

You can also check which cars were purchased by state or local authorities, as well as other procuring entities. Look for them in the table in the “Organizer” field.

While measuring the openness of local authorities is a relatively new trend, it has already been applied in several countries – Canada, Slovakia, Spain to name a few. Ukraine does not stand aside from the global trend, chasing growth, ingenuity, and accountability.

In 2017, the Transparent Cities program developed the first Transparency Ranking of the 100 largest cities in Ukraine. For four years in a row, the team evaluated the cities openness, level of citizens’ participation in the policy-making processes based on the developed methodology, comprising more than 80 indicators. 

For the new 2021 Transparency and Accountability Rankings, we analyze whether city councils comply with regulatory requirements in municipal transparency and accountability and whether residents have a real opportunity to participate and influence the development of city policies.

 

Enhancing Transparency 

The first Transparency Ranking highlighted the challenges the cities should address in the first place. As a result, four years after the launch of the ranking, the overall transparency score increased by almost 60 percent. The average level of city transparency constituted in 2017 was 29.9 points, in 2020, it reached 47.7 points.

What do these results show? They determine whether or not cities meet the goals of decentralization reform. In order to increase their level of transparency, cities make important decisions on budgeting, e-democracy, citizens` demands, strategy, and, in many cases, legislation. The results prove that municipalities continue to publish new datasets and update existing ones each year, improve the functionality of their websites, and implement digital services. The vast majority of cities organize and cover participatory budget competitions, announce vacancies in the executive bodies, publish draft regulatory acts, protocols of meetings, and numerous reports.

For instance, 93 cities out of 100 have provided parents with the opportunity to apply for their child’s enrolment in kindergarten or school online. Most cities also offer a digital waiting list for distributing children to preschool institutions. More improvements can be observed in the area of social policy, in particular, due to the introduction of electronic tools for the submission and tracking of applications for services in social institutions.

In many spheres, transparency lit a path for cities.

 

Not That Easy: Key Challenges for Ukrainian Cities

The city council’s transformation dynamics towards higher administrative transparency is not a linear process. The most rapid improvements happened between the first and second waves of the ranking. In 2017-2018, local governments on average improved their transparency performance by 28%, and many cities made a significant step forward in the rankings, while in 2019-2020, we experienced a relatively modest increase in the average transparency levels with many cities stagnating or losing their points in the rankings. 

The gap between the leading cities and the outsiders in the ranking is widening: several city councils that occupy top positions in the ranking continue to actively implement transparency practices, while the vast majority are developing slowly or stagnating. Despite the general positive dynamics, the intensity of change towards higher transparency is slowing down over time.

Such unstable dynamics signal important challenges in the sustainability of Ukrainian cities’ development. While some city councils try to implement the ranking requirements in a hurry to improve their positions in the ranking, we often observe the lack of consistency and long-term planning in the implementation of transparent practices on the local levels. Among the main challenges for the local governments, there is a lack of systemic approach and weak institutions. In many cases, the political will and professionalism of the mayor remain the determining factors in improving administrative transparency on the local level. 

Since March 2020, one of the main challenges has been the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, direct public access to the city councils’ hearings and citizen participation in decision-making processes has been restricted. 

Nevertheless, local authorities have made efforts to integrate and develop digital tools. Many municipalities across Ukraine have demonstrated their ability and determination to overcome obstacles and improve their services. They expanded the range of digital instruments and actively informed citizens about their availability. More and more cities began live streaming of city council sessions – often with the possibility of commenting and involving sign language interpreters, making citizen participation in the decision-making process more inclusive.

Another positive change is the increasing number of cities annually publishing data sets that have to be in open access according to the Ukrainian legislation. Access to such information is important for increasing transparency and proper functioning of democracy on the local level.

For a year to come, municipal online services will remain essential. 

 

New Ranking as a test for local authorities

To explore the situation with the openness of local authorities deeper, our team decided to take a more comprehensive approach to assessment. The questions were: Do the citizens have a real opportunity to be involved and influence policy-making processes? Do the local authorities report fully and publicly on their activities?

To find an answer, the Accountability Ranking of 50 Ukrainian cities was created. The results of the first assessment showed that the average level of accountability was four times lower than that for transparency. 45 cities out of 50 scored less than 20 points and received the status of unaccountable. It should be noted however that increasing transparency was also not that easy four years ago, and it took cities a long time to get where they are today. That is why the methodology for a new Ranking opened opportunities for improvement in cities’ performance. 

In 2020, the first ranking of accountability of 50 cities of Ukraine was conducted. The ranking focused on practical aspects of local governments’ activities and their cooperation with the local communities. According to the study, the average accountability score is only 12%, which is much lower than the average transparency score. 

Despite the poor results, we expect a positive change in bridging the gap between the levels of transparency and accountability in the upcoming 2-3 years. For the year 2021, we expect the average results to improve by 20%.

 

Societal demand for accountable government

Ukraine’s example of the DOZORRO-community showed a significant demand to see how municipalities are spending the municipal funds for public procurement. I would like to point out several scandals that had emerged when activists alerted the media, based on the now-public information, to suspicious public procurement. They ranged from highly paid advisory positions going to friends to extravagant spending on salt with silver ions for spreading on the streets in winter by debt-laden municipalities.

Inspired by the successful case of cooperation between the civil society, business, and government within the DOZORRO community, our team created the Transparent Cities online platform, which allows engaging active citizens, local government, and civil society representatives to do the accountability assessment through the evaluation in the form of public feedback.

Thanks to the online platform, registered users can leave detailed feedback on the realization of indicators and add supporting materials (documents, photos, audio, videos, links). So far, 45 civil society organizations have expressed a desire to join the community. Such interest implies that active citizens require openness not on paper but in real life. But moreover, they are ready to contribute their own time and efforts.

The trend towards greater openness (including its assessment) will be irresistible, forcing cities to reinvent their strategies, develop new ways of engaging with citizens, and ultimately enable the benefits of transparency to appear. Our team anticipates transparency and accountability will continue to be essential drivers for Ukrainian cities.

On December 27, 2019, Yanchuk A.V. was dismissed by the order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine from the post of ARMA head. That is, for more than 2 years, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency has been without a permanent head.

Why is the question of having a full-fledged manager so important? Because the acting head does not have sufficient independence to act regardless of the interests of the subject of appointment — the Cabinet of Ministers. After all, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine can dismiss such a head at any time. And it will be legal.

Only on September 29, the very Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine finally approved the composition of the selection commission and thus triggered the selection process.

On October 5, the first of about 20 meetings of the selection commission (as of today) was held. However, the expected progress both in terms of competition of applicants and in terms of independence of the process is not yet observed.

So, what’s wrong with the competition?

The key problem of this competition is the extremely small number of participants — according to the results of submission of documents, only 12 candidates applied for the selection of the head of the National Agency. For comparison, 32 people submitted documents for the position of the NACP head, and there were 169 applications in the SAPO competition! 

In our opinion, this was directly influenced by the fact that the commission published the procedure for holding the competition and the rules of its work much later than the start of the submission of documents, which affected the total number of applicants. A decent and virtuous professional with managerial and international experience in the legal field usually wants to understand at least the selection and evaluation criteria before spending time collecting a large pile of documents for participation in the competition.

Moreover, the trust of potential candidates was undermined not only by the lack of a competition procedure and rules for the work of the selection commission at the stage of submission of documents, but also by the blurring of criteria for evaluating integrity, unwillingness to consider the best experience of similar commissions, and the fact that the commission’s mistakes when selecting the BES head were ignored.

Today we can confidently say that there are at least 4 systemic and related issues in the competition for the selection of the ARMA head: 

1. Lack of a sufficient number of virtuous potential candidates for the head of the National Agency. 

It was encouraging worthy and virtuous candidates to participate in the competition that should have been one of the most important tasks of the selection commission. However, really worthy candidates always appreciate transparency and integrity of the competition rules. Therefore, under the current circumstances of the competition and certain actions of the commission, among the candidates as of today, we can see persons who, according to media reports, were involved in corruption scandals and the practical absence of independent applicants to whom, there are no questions about integrity.

2. Members of the commission openly ignore the issue of studying the personal integrity of candidates, which is extremely dangerous. 

The commission’s study of the integrity of candidates in similar competitions for senior positions in the state authorities of Ukraine has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to “discard” applicants with a tarnished reputation, professionally unethical, or politically engaged.

The recent competition for the selection of the BES head has shown a vivid and negative example of what ignoring the issues of integrity and ethics of candidates leads to. During this competition, the media and civil society organizations noted the presence of “dark spots” in the biography and acute questions to the finalists of the BES competition, but the commission did not consider them.

The commission for the selection of the ARMA head falls into the same trap. After refusing to evaluate integrity and deliberately blurring the subject of interviews, an outsider may have an idea of the formality of the competition itself.

3. Test questions for general knowledge and knowledge of special legislation are too easy.

Due to its being easy, the test task did not allow to discard candidates who could not demonstrate a significant level of knowledge of domestic and foreign legislation on recovery, search, and asset management. Answers to questions about the judicial practice on the transfer of seized property to the management of the ARMA, gaps in legislation, the principles of the activities of foreign analogues, on the model of which the ARMA was built, should demonstrate a profound understanding by the potential head of the basics of the National Agency’s work. Unfortunately, none of this can be seen in the tests.

4. The 30 minutes provided for evaluating candidates (even with the theoretical possibility of extending the time) is not enough.

This time will only allow to formally assess the moral and business qualities, professional knowledge, and health status of candidates. An objective assessment of all these qualities is physically impossible in half an hour, especially given the numerous questions about integrity, political neutrality, and professional ethics to almost all potential candidates for the head of the ARMA.

How to fix these errors?

To achieve the desired result, it is necessary to return the competition to the stage of submission of documents by candidates, but first, it is necessary to publish the procedure for conducting the competition and transparent criteria for evaluating candidates before accepting documents. Then everyone, including the candidates who have already applied, can pass a full-fledged competitive selection process.

The ARMA really needs a new Head, but it is equally important that the competition is held as transparently as possible, and in the end the institution is headed by an independent and professional leader.

The National Agency not only has the most essential service role in the system of anti-corruption bodies. Its effective work is the government’s commitment to Ukrainian society and international partners. 

Cities have long considered data disclosure to be trouble. The amount of data is growing, and the quality of the presentation is questionable. Why do cities need to disclose more information? And how should the data be published?

 

#openbydefault  

Ideally, all government data and publicly funded data should be open by default, and not vice versa — when everything is closed and managers publish information in fragments. In practice, local self-government bodies are lost in trying to optimize all the amounts of information available to them.

To avoid this, in addition to legal requirements, it is necessary to consider the specific needs and requests of residents, as well as the context of the city itself. Trade or infrastructure, municipal property, or city planning and architecture: which of these areas directly affects the investment climate, which is the most problematic, and the development of which promises a tangible increase in the local budget? 

The problem is also that some information may contain personal data that is not subject to disclosure. In order not to violate a person’s rights to protect personal data, the information manager may remove such data before publishing the data set. You can learn more in Methodological Recommendations regarding depersonalization of open data sets.

The argument of local councils about the lack of time for publication has already lost its relevance. After all, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 835 “On Approval of the Regulation on Data Sets that Are Subject to Publication in the Form of Open Data” has been in force for six years. In other words, all data will need to be published now or later. However, when a city understands the benefits of data disclosure, it can develop a step-by-step publication plan based on current needs and priorities. This will reduce the risk of drowning in a huge amount of simultaneous work with all the data.

 

Fake it till you make it: what pretends to be open data, but it’s not

Our Transparent Cities program team evaluates the transparency and accountability of Ukrainian cities. As part of the annual rankings, we work on the availability of information on the official websites of city councils. In our work, we have come across a wide variety of interpretations of the concept of “open data” — from PDF versions of published documents to handwritten ones. Analysts often have to work with data sets that are not updated, contain false information, or whose content is generally unclear.

What about residents who just want to know more about what’s going on in their city? The level of interest and awareness of civil society in decision-making remains relatively low, and with the obstacles we have described, this will continue for a long time.

It is worth mentioning that public information in the form of open data is information in a format that allows its automated processing by electronic means, free access, and use of this information. The appropriate formats for such materials are CSV, JSON, and XML formats, and just a scan or image no longer meets these requirements. Moreover, they are extremely inconvenient in use. 

It is important that the goal of working with open data should not only be their formal publication, even in the proper formats. Cities should not stake only on its availability. 

It is necessary that data disclosure encourages public discussion, residents’ participation in decision-making, and communication between data managers and users. Open data will not give this result when published improperly, for the sake of formality. 

Information is really valuable when it is used. “Dead” sets cannot contribute to qualitative changes.

 

We don’t share: what data cities don’t like to publish

However, the biggest problem is the lack of any data in the public domain.

For example, the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 835 provides for the publication by local self-government bodies of data by local self-government bodies on registration of citizens in need of better housing conditions (housing lists). The publication of such data is critical for ensuring transparency of housing policy in the city — the ability of citizens to see the current state of the lists for improving housing conditions. However, in practice, not all city councils comply with the requirements of the Resolution. Research results of the state of transparency in 100 cities in 2020 showed that 23 cities did not publish current housing lists.

There are also positive examples — some city councils not only fulfilled the basic requirement for housing lists, but also additionally created a well-established system for submitting an online application for improving housing conditions with the ability to monitor its status. This service is already used by residents of Bila Tserkva, Dubno, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih, Lviv, Mukachevo, and Khmelnytskyi. Some cities also provided this service through the public services portal igov.org.ua (Drohobych, Kamianske, Mariupol). Accordingly, these electronic systems allow to automate the processes of collecting and publishing data about the housing waiting lists. 

Another example is the publication of information in the field of land use and construction policy. 

Local self-government bodies are required to publish detailed territory plans. In addition, according to Article 19, part 7 of the Law of Ukraine “On Regulation of City Planning Activity,” materials of a detailed territory plan cannot be restricted in access. The general availability of materials is also ensured in accordance with the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information.” 

And some city councils not only published detailed plans of territories, but also created special geoportals that allow publishing data and graphic materials in the format of geospatial data and uploading them for further processing. The city councils of Dnipro, Mariupol, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi are exemplary in implementing this practice. At the same time, as the evaluation results of transparency in 2020 have shown, 19 cities out of 100 do not publish detailed territory plans. 

The problem is that some cities do publish detailed plans of territories, but not in the necessary geospatial formats. Instead of geospatial information with coordinates, users receive images that cannot be processed, analyzed, and reused without additional expensive work. 

In other words, the question of quality, not just data availability, arises again.

 

What can we do?

We live in a world where everything becomes even more connected, “linked.” And it is data that is at the heart of most processes. Cities collect and accumulate information about various aspects of our lives daily. It is thanks to this data that we can freely choose a GP, avoid investing in risky construction, and find a school or kindergarten for a child. 

Those cities that conceal information ignore the needs and opportunities of researchers, companies, and residents. This means that they prevent positive changes, the implementation of new ideas and innovative solutions. They, by and large, steal their own development opportunities. And vice versa, those cities that are specifically engaged in publishing information become more efficient, attractive for business, and comfortable to live in.

Changing the paradigm of open data perception — from trouble to opportunities — can change our cities and reach the full potential of the times we are lucky enough to live in.

In our country, there are events happening almost every day that directly or indirectly affect its anti-corruption capacity. Therefore, it is important that all those who are not indifferent to this should be so not only in words, but also in deeds. After all, a frail civil society is a direct road to the “Matrix.”

According to the well-known plot, the concept of will and activity in the “Matrix” does not exist. This is a system where everything is saturated with simulation, and only those who have left their comfort zone and dared to see the world get to reality. A vivid analogy comes to mind with the corrupt present of Ukraine and the opportunities for active citizens to make changes happen here and now. The first step to take is to be aware of your life in this system and be ready to accept the red pill of knowledge.

 

We are all Neo (or Trinity, or Morpheus — at your choice)

In fact, corruption is the destructive shortcomings of a society that is used to this “Matrix” and its rules, where any problems are solved with connections or money (without connections, of course, it is also possible, but it will be more expensive). In such a world, people who get a cut and are in the know live well.

Dissatisfaction with the manifestations of corruption by citizens who have moral principles is explained easily: no one likes a violation of the balance of justice. In the context of high-profile corruption cases, this means that officials, that is, people responsible for corrupt actions that often cause millions in damage to the national budget, avoid responsibility.

Developed and successful states, on the contrary, support equality among all their citizens before the law and protect democratic values in every possible way. However, the basis of this situation is a proactive civic position and real interest in the common good. The added value of a democratic system is that civil society can participate at all levels in the life of the country. We are not in the “Matrix” and not in the USSR.

And you can influence the situation in the country. Defeating the corrupt John Smiths is not easy, but it is possible.

Think of Neo again. Perseverance helped him defeat evil, a useful skill, in general, but in the context of anti-corruption, it is also very resource-intensive. Therefore, activists often use expressions describing the tireless urge of civil society to continue the fight and not to give up. On the other hand, opponents from the other side sow disorientation and destruction.

A recipe for you: keep track of the progress of cases and processes that affect you and your environment, life, and loved ones. So, in small steps, the whole country will be under the watchful eye of the anti-corruption fight.

 

What is happening at the anti-corruption front?

When there is a real demand for transparency and accountability in all spheres of the cuntry’s functioning, and not sighing and whining, when we act together in case of violation of our rights, jointly put pressure on dishonest officials and judges — then everything will start to change.

We know about this because we have been monitoring the cases of the Anti-Corruption Court for more than a year and a half. According to the independent comprehensive assessment of TI Ukraine, this institution received the highest score among anti-corruption bodies — 4 points out of 5. The HACC has shown that high-quality and effective consideration of high-profile corruption cases are possible. Not without pitfalls: systematic disruption of meetings on the part of the defense, or the inability to bring to justice participants in the process for contempt of court. However, these pitfalls may soon be minimized due to the proposed changes to the legislation.

Cases of senior corrupt officials go through different paths to the HACC, but as a general rule, everything starts with the NABU. That’s what we’ll talk about.

It is the NABU that has the authority to investigate cases that fall under the category of “high-profile corruption.” In other words, these are cases against such persons as: ex-presidents, ministers, MPs, judges, prosecutors, heads of local self-government bodies, and so on. There is another sign of a high-profile corruption crime: when the amount of the subject matter of the crime or the damage caused by it exceeds 500 or more times the subsistence minimum (if now the subsistence minimum is UAH 2,481, then this is about UAH 1.2 mln).

Among other things, the NABU is investigating corruption cases, often based on materials from the NACP, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the National Police, but it also starts it after reports by whistleblowers, journalists, or activists. Then, under the procedural guidance, the SAPO charges with suspicion, conducts a pre-trial investigation, and, having collected enough evidence, refers the case to the High Anti-Corruption Court. If assets of unknown origin are involved in the story, the ARMA takes care of them. The anti-corruption cycle is closed; this is how everything works.

 

Where is my part in the anti-corruption fight here?

Nowadays, anyone can become a part of the fight against corruption. What you can do is monitor and engage. This is how you indirectly become part of the force that seeks to pull the country out of the whirlwind and thunderstorm of bribes and “necessary connections.”

We have created an educational course “From Statement to Sentence,” in which we dwell on who is investigating corruption in Ukraine, what exactly the NABU can do, how to appeal to it, and what you need for this. Using an example, we showed you how to deal with corrupt officials in real life — in situations that probably happened to you, or you heard about them from friends.

The series consists of 5 episodes and short tests after each of them. Upon completion of the course, you will be able to obtain a certificate that provides credits of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System. Passing such courses is considered as advanced training for officials.

However, this is by no means to say that this course is developed specifically for officials. After all, corruption is a disaster that spreads like a virus that migrates through the system, like agents Smiths in a fictional Matrix. And at some point, everyone can witness it, but it is simply impossible to predict this moment. Therefore, you should prepare for such a “meeting” in advance, and this is possible only when you know exactly how the system works, and how exactly you can influence it.

Watch the series, get a certificate, and join the community of those who are not indifferent! Then we will be able to rewrite the code of a society programmed for bribes to the development strategy of a successful country. This will improve your life personally, as well as the lives of all Ukrainian citizens.

 

The reactions and actions of society bring us closer to a European-style country. This is an inaccessible luxury for countries with citizens’ limited access to the control of the processes in the country. And given the historical experience of Ukraine, we all need to learn.

Choose a red pill. Write down the fight against corruption in your plans for 2022. Let it be an activity that will expand your horizons, add experience, and allow you to change this world for the better.

The cost of preparations of regional centers of Ukraine for the New Year ranges from zero to more than UAH 70 mln. We have analyzed procurement transactions, conducted in relation to holidays, in different cities of the country and will tell you about the approaches to local budget expenditures.

Kyiv

The main Christmas tree of the capital is traditionally considered the main Christmas Tree of the country. This year, like all previous ones after the Revolution of Dignity, it was put up on Sofiiska square. It isn’t the tallest in Ukraine, but definitely beautiful and impressive: the 31-meter tree is decorated with 20,000 gold and red balls, in a magic tent made of diode strings of lights and individual bulbs. The current main Christmas tree did not cause any disputes, but only delight.

However, the procedure for processing expenses for the capital’s Christmas tree continues to raise questions. As we already explained in detail last year, the KCSA traditionally gives the right to arrange the main Christmas tree to companies associated with the former senior official of the KCSA Ihor Dobrutskyi. Previously, this was done simply because these companies own registered trademarks with certain new year’s art titles. The city purchased art projects with these specific titles. And since the titles are registered trademarks, you can only purchase them from the owner. 

Perhaps, the city authorities this year finally considered a certain ethical inconsistency of such a procedure. After all, the company that will be given budget money, and the right to use the holiday location for commercial purposes was determined at a special concept competition by the Arts Council. However, the winner of the competition was TOV Global Decor, which took charge of the capital’s Christmas tree last year. 

This company was given UAH 2.2 mln according to the negotiation procedure. According to the TD, these funds were used to arrange festive illumination of the Christmas tree, the square, and several art objects. The Christmas tree itself (this year and in recent years it’s an artificial tree) and decorations (plastic balls, tinsel) on it are provided by the winner of the competition. 

For a location of this scale, the amount of 2 mln is really not too large — the rest of the costs are covered by sponsors. Almost the same amount was spent by the Department of Culture on arranging a Christmas tree and holding a festive concert at another location in the city center — in Shevchenko Park. The contract worth almost UAH 2.5 mln was given to the Kyiv branch of the creative union “Association of pop artists of Ukraine” also according to the negotiation procedure. The KCSA spent more than half a million hryvnias on organizing a festive town in Podil. Here, too, the contractor was selected at a competition, and only the report on the negotiation procedure was published. The estimate for this agreement shows that “the cultural and artistic work ‘Christmas in Podil’” is the installation, decoration, and cleaning of festive locations of the square. 

In general, Kyiv spent more than UAH 5 mln. In addition, districts of the capital also organize their own Christmas trees and holidays.

Dnipro 

The Dnipro city council decided to approach the organization of the holiday this year with neither negotiations, nor excessive modesty. It decided to impress not only Dnipro residents, but also the whole Ukraine — the cost of festive decoration of the Christmas tree and the central square of the city reached a record UAH 50 mln. 

ME Misksvitlo announced a procurement transaction with an expected cost of UAH 51.6 mln, two participants took part, and TOV Ukrtekhnoprom won the auction with a minimal advantage. For UAH 50.8 mln, the contractor created themed zones, decorated the Christmas tree, and illuminated the square and streets with diode illumination.

In addition, in Dnipro, garlands and various decor were also purchased separately to decorate the city center. In general, the city’s expenses for the celebration exceeded UAH 70 mln. 

Zaporizhzhia

Zaporizhzhia ranks second in terms of New Year’s spending this year. The local department of culture and tourism conducted only three procurement transactions, but spent UAH 10.5 mln within them. The services for organizing a holiday location, installation of garlands and other electrical equipment, and separately for designing and connecting illumination were purchased.   

Kharkiv 

Kharkiv, which also likes to spend crazy money on festive locations for the New Year holidays, this year was quite restrained: it spent less than UAH 9 mln. A 40-meter Christmas tree was installed on the main square, which was purchased back in 2018. For its decoration, illumination, and design of two festive squares, almost from the city budget was spent UAH 4.4 million. The tender was won by TOV Sharing Express, which took part in public procurement for the second time. 

Another UAH 4.5 mln was spent on the festive illumination of the Horkyi Central Park. 

Odesa 

Odesa spent traditional amounts — ME Odesmisksvitlo purchased services for festive illumination of the main square and the center for UAH 2.6 mln and UAH 1.4 mln. Both procurement transactions were won by the local company TOV Lumiere Ukraine. As part of simplified procurement, it also received a contract for installing a Christmas tree for UAH 199,000.

In general, the city spent approximately UAH 7 mln on the main Christmas tree and illumination. 

Lviv

In Lviv, a real Christmas tree was traditionally lit. The 18-meter tree was presented to the city community by Vasyl Kozlenko, resident of the Obroshyno village, whose spruce tree had been growing in the yard for 35 years. To install it and purchase garlands for it, the city paid more than UAH 180,000 to ME Lvivsvitlo. 

Lvivsvitlo spent another UAH 4.6 mln on the illumination of the central streets of the city.

Vinnytsia 

Residents of Vinnytsia were left without the main Christmas tree at all last year — a festive location and events were canceled due to quarantine restrictions. Apparently, this is why this year, the city authorities organized the holiday to the fullest: they installed a 28-meter Christmas tree consisting of real trees. UAH 1.9 mln was spent on it, another UAH 1.35 mln was spent on garlands and lighting. The city also has already made sure that after the holidays, the Christmas tree was removed.

Zhytomyr 

In Zhytomyr, the city authorities showed an example of a rather economical approach to organizing the celebration, which, however, not everyone liked. The main Christmas tree of the city is 30 meters high, as the Kyiv one on Sofiiska square, but here, it is a real tree growing in the center on the Mykhailivska street. 

The department of culture of the city council purchased services for organizing festive events, which also included decorating the Christmas tree, the square and creating photo zones, as well as organizing broadcasts and video messages. This tender with an offer of UAH 414,000 was won by the regional puppet theater. The department of culture separately purchased LED structures for photo zones in the center for UAH 974,000. However, not all citizens liked the level of organization of festive locations, according to social networks. 

Kramatorsk

In the administrative center of the frontline Donetsk region, local authorities have arranged the main Christmas tree quite budget-friendly. The city’s department of culture purchased services of a festive light show for the opening of the main Christmas tree in Kramatorsk for UAH 198,000. All new year’s procurement transactions for decorating the city center cost a little more than UAH 400,000.

Cherkasy

In Cherkasy, a lot was spent, but some decorations were purchased last year (for example, LED structures with the name of the city) for UAH 2.76 mln. In 2021, another UAH 3.95 mln was spent. In general, approximately UAH 5 mln was spent on the Christmas tree, decorations, and festive events in the city this year.

Rivne

Almost UAH 3 mln was spent on the main Christmas tree in Rivne. Here, TOV Epicenter K won the procurement with minimal bidding — for UAH 2.99 mln. The more economical offer of his competitor was rejected because that company did not provide all the necessary documents. 

Chernivtsi

The very same TOV Epicenter K became a contractor in Chernivtsi — the city authorities purchased an 18-meter artificial Christmas tree for UAH 799,000. A slightly cheaper offer was provided here by the same company that competed with Epicenter in Rivne, and it was also rejected for non-compliance with the tender requirements. 

Poltava

One of the most economical among regional centers was Poltava. Here, the city authorities ordered installation and decoration services for the central Christmas tree worth UAH 148,000. Another UAH 90,000 was paid for the installation of new year’s illumination. The Christmas tree and illumination had been purchased in previous years. However, at first, the local ME responsible for them offered to finally do everything “like normal people do” — for UAH 3 mln. However, MPs of the city council did not approve such an amount for entertainment. 

Ivano-Frankivsk

The Ivano-Frankivsk community has demonstrated a real example of conscious consumption and economy in terms of the city budget. Here, the city authorities arranged both a Christmas tree and a festive illumination, and they were the first in Ukraine to open the location, back on December 3. However, no money was spent on procurement this year in general. 

The artificial 18-meter Christmas tree, 3D illumination, and lighting of the square were purchased in previous years (2017-2018) and are now being used again. These were expenses commensurate with other similar annual procurement transactions of Ukrainian cities — Christmas tree worth UAH 590,000 and LED garlands, arches, etc. (several procurement transactions from UAH 0.5 to 3 mln). The fact that this year, no procurement transactions were conducted for the arrangement of the main Christmas tree was also confirmed to us by ME Ivano-Frankivskmisksvitlo, which deals with this matter.

Actually, we can only welcome such a logical and balanced approach of the city authorities. Moreover, judging by the photo, the economy did not affect the quality of decorations of the main Christmas tree of the city.

According to the Chesno data, the city spent more than UAH 400,000 on the festive events — the opening of the Christmas tree and the festival.  

It’s been two years since the Law on Whistleblower Protection came into force. It provides for confidentiality, security, free legal and psychological assistance, reimbursement of expenses for a lawyer, etc. Are the legal guarantees fully implemented?

In early 2021, the institution of whistleblowers was under threat. In February, MPs amended draft law No. 3450 “On Prevention of Corruption,” weakening the protection of whistleblowers. Then, we urged the President not to sign the adopted law in the second reading because it, among other things, significantly narrowed the rights of whistleblowers and did not provide for clear guarantees of anonymity of communication channels. Subsequently, Volodymyr Zelenskyy did veto the law.

On June 1, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada finally approved the law on the protection of whistleblowers, having considered the President’s proposals. One of the key requirements was to create a portal where whistleblowers could transmit messages about possible facts of corruption offenses. This should ensure high standards of information protection. The NACP is to administer the Unified Portal of Whistleblower Reports; however, the National Agency has not launched it yet.

In general, in 2021, the NACP provided support for at least 98 court cases against whistleblowers (as of November 17, 2021). Of these, 18 have been opened since the beginning of 2021, and 11 cases have been decided in favor of whistleblowers. In addition, the NACP filed 4 applications for joining cases in which proceedings were opened on the claims of whistleblowers, which were granted. However, there is a lack of information on those cases in which it was not possible to achieve a positive result for whistleblowers, with appropriate reasons for this.

Neither have there been shifts relating to the physical safety of whistleblowers outside criminal proceedings. In particular, no relevant changes have been adopted that would ensure the protection of such people and their family members and comply with international standards. In the future, legislative immunity should also be extended to those who assisted the whistleblower in the course of communication, etc. It will also be necessary to consider the possibility of obtaining the right to medical care. It is worth noting that the provision of psychological assistance already provided for in the law remains declarative due to the lack of appropriate procedures. Whistleblowers who report information containing state secret need a higher level of protection.

The question of extending legislative guarantees to whistleblowers of socially necessary information remains open, since Ukraine still has no broad definition of the “whistleblower” concept. It is critical to focus not only on protecting whistleblowers of corruption, but also of other areas: violations of human rights, ecology, food and transport safety, etc. This will be consistent with the EU Directive on the protection of information whistleblowers and leading international experience.

Among the positive aspects, it is worth noting that the National Agency continued conducting educational and explanatory activities about the institution of whistleblowers. For example, in 2021, the NACP developed a guide on cooperation with whistleblowers for authorized departments on prevention and detection of corruption working in government bodies, and also released an educational series “Whistleblower in Law” and an online course “Influence — expose.”

The National Agency also quite broadly provided explanations on the protection of the rights of whistleblowers. However, not all issues were discussed with a wide range of stakeholders.

Thus, the legislation on the protection of whistleblowers has not yet been fully implemented. To correct this situation, the following recommendations are to be considered:

• to launch a Unified Portal of Whistleblower Reports and ensure its proper functioning;
• to continue training and dissemination of information, explanatory, and training materials;
• to ensure the discussion of debatable issues of application of the legislation on the protection of whistleblowers with all stakeholders, consider the results of such discussions when preparing clarifications and recommendations of the NACP on relevant issues;
• to conduct educational work on ways to report corruption, guarantees of protection of whistleblowers and ways to implement them;
• to ensure proper communication of successful examples of protection of the whistleblowers’ rights and cases of bringing persons to justice because of whistleblowers’ reports.

In addition, judicial and law enforcement agencies need to be reformed to properly protect whistleblowers. Therefore, if all competent institutions and individuals strengthen their capabilities, the institution of whistleblowers will function better.