Mykolaiv is facing many challenges due to the full-scale invasion. This includes a significant number of damaged or destroyed facilities, a decline in market activity, supply chain issues, and a shortage of qualified specialists.
These challenges have prompted a renewal and improvement of approaches to conducting and planning public procurement of services and materials.
In 2023, at the initiative of Oleksandr Syenkevych, Mayor of Mykolaiv, the Mykolaiv City Council begun a comprehensive overhaul of procurement policies with the support of the EUACI. The main goals were to increase transparency and efficiency, ensure maximum competition, and achieve significant cost savings during the procurement process and contract negotiations.
On 13 September, Oleksandr Sienkevych approved significant changes to procurement practices in the Housing and Utility Infrastructure Department and the Capital Construction Directorate of the Mykolaiv City Council. These departments will become the main customers for capital repairs and new construction in the coming years.
What has changed?
🔹 Establishment of a Procurement Committee.
🔹 Modification of the approach to forming and justifying needs.
🔹 Revision of the method for substantiating the technical characteristics of procurement items.
🔹 Development of a unified approach to determining the expected cost based on price monitoring.
🔹 Simplification and standardization of tender documentation.
While much improved procedures are now in place, Mykolaiv City Administration continues to suffer from lack of capacity and of expertise in the field of public procurement.
Experts from the Center for Public Monitoring and Research and the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) Integrity Support Office contributed to the development and implementation of the procurement approaches.
Earlier, in 2023, Mykolaiv became the first city to introduce mandatory publication of estimates in a machine-readable format. In 2024, monitoring of prices for basic construction materials and resources was introduced.
The joint experience of Mykolaiv and the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) has been compiled into a manual that includes descriptions of practices and draft documents which can be used as a basis when reforming procurement policies in other cities (UKR): https://lnkd.in/d9W76Kva
