Growth Slows Down. The NACP Has Improved Its Score by 0.1 Points Over 2 Years — Study Results by Transparency International Ukraine

This was published by Transparency International Ukraine in the Study of Capacity, Governance, and Interaction of Agencies That Make Up Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Infrastructure 2023, conducted with the support of the USAID project “Supporting Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions” (SACCI). 

This is the third comprehensive study of the NACP’s work by TI Ukraine. In the first study in 2020, the National Agency received 3.3 points, and in 2021 — 3.6 points. Researchers note a certain slowdown in the NACP reform, because from 2020 to 2021, the agency gained 0.3 points, and from 2021 to 2023 — only 0.1 points. 

As the authors of the study note, while the NACP was fully rebooted in 2020, the agency underwent major changes making its work more independent and effective. The rebooted Agency passed its first external audit helping the NACP assess the recent years of its work (2020-2021). The audit findings outline the main areas for the NACP’s development: publicity and exhaustiveness of information, active engagement of the public in cooperation, increasing the staff.

“The NACP is the only anti-corruption body to have passed its first external independent audit. Based on its results, international auditors provided the National Agency with 120 recommendations. Importantly, the auditors’ recommendations echo the recommendations we previously provided to the NACP. Therefore, the international audit once again confirmed the relevance and expediency of certain changes to strengthen the capacity and independence of the Agency,” said legal advisor of TI Ukraine Nataliia Sichevliuk. 

Of the 34 recommendations provided in the previous assessment, the NACP fully implemented 7, partially implemented 18, and did not implement 9. This year, TI Ukraine provided the National Agency with 20 recommendations, of which 5 are priority: 

• Align the staff structure of the Agency with the legislation (NACP)
• Change the methodology and criteria of independent audit of the NACP (Cabinet)
• Publish drafts and approved documents on the website; hold public consultations prior to their approval (NACP)
• Increase the maximum number of NACP apparatus and budget to establish its territorial bodies (Cabinet)
• Conduct transparent and open competitive recruitment for job openings (NACP)

The HACC obtained the best score at 4.6 points, while the ARMA had the worst result 3.4 points. Of the 103 recommendations made in the 2020 study, the agencies implemented 23, partially implemented 36, and did not implement 41. 

The study covers the period from August 2020 to June 2023.

Anti-corruption agencies, namely the NACP, the NABU, the SAPO, the ARMA, and the HACC, were assessed on a scale from 1 to 5. 

The research methodology has been developed taking into account the main approaches of the National Integrity System (NIS), developed and implemented by the international anti-corruption network Transparency International. 

The draft study was provided to anti-corruption infrastructure agencies for preliminary perusal, comments and corrections.

This research was made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the SACCI project. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

For reference: The Support to Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI) Program in Ukraine is a six-year USAID initiative that has an objective to assist Ukraine to reduce corruption and increase the accountability and transparency of governance in Ukraine. The program seeks to empower key government institutions to fight corruption, build public support for and engagement in anti-corruption efforts, and reduce citizen tolerance to corruption, as well as ensure maximum transparency and accountability of Ukraine’s post-war recovery and reconstruction.