On 28 July, anti-corruption commissioners, representatives of NGOs, businesses and independent experts joined the public presentation of the draft Anti-corruption Program and Risk Register of the Agency of Restoration. The documents were developed by the Agency of Restoration and Development with the support of the EUACI’s experts.
In his welcoming remarks, Allan Pagh Kristensen, the Head of the EUACI, spoke about the program’s active engagement with the Agency of Restoration to ensure transparency and integrity in Ukraine’s recovery. Addressing the anti-corruption commissioners of the Agency’s regional divisions, Allan Pagh Kristensen said:
“We can support Ukraine in developing anti-corruption programs, we can provide recommendations, we can procure IT tools and we can conduct training courses. But in the end, it is about people, about the work that you and your colleagues are doing, that is making a difference on the ground. We cannot underestimate the importance of the role you are going to play in the reconstruction process. A lot of responsibility will rest on your shoulders and we are there to help.”
Valeriya Ivanova, the Deputy Head of the Agency, spoke about the main risk processes in the activities of the services and the challenges of the Agency for Restoration.
“There are many areas of work: civil, road infrastructure, social facilities, critical infrastructure. Challenges in our work are related to non-transparent mechanisms at the level of regulations and non-adapted internal provisions. This is reflected in the Programme, and I hope that it will increase the efficiency of regional services,” said Valeriya Ivanova.
Serhiy Derkach, the Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, shared his vision of a systematic approach to the professional development of anti-corruption commissioners.
“To minimize corruption risks, it is necessary to work not only with the commissioners or the management. This is a very complex issue, for example, the management should help promote measures and allocate resources for anti-corruption activities – whether it is the purchase of an IT system or the development of a database for checking counterparties, or providing human resources. Speaking of reconstruction, it is important to understand that this process also involves business, which must work with its compliance and ensure high-quality anti-corruption work,” said Serhiy Derkach.
The Program draft and Risk Register for each Recovery Service are available on their official websites for review and further public discussion by all stakeholders. Find your region here: https://cutt.ly/bwabYTlD .
Soon, the regional divisions of the Agency of Restoration are expected to approve the Anti-corruption Program.
The event was cohosted by the EUACI and the Agency for Restoration.
The recording of the event is available here.
