Senkevych reported in Kyiv on Mykolaiv's anti-corruption reforms

Improvements in procurement procedures allowed «Микolaivvodokanal» to save more than 50 million hryvnias. About another 20 million hryvnias in savings came from the enterprise’s reorganization. Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych presented these results on 29 September in Kyiv, speaking about anti-corruption changes in Mykolaiv.

The mayor joined a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Anti-Corruption Initiative of the EU in Ukraine — EUACI and an event marking the accession of the United Kingdom and Germany. He presented the city’s experience during a panel dedicated to the future anti-corruption agenda in Ukraine. According to the mayor, this year the partnership with EUACI brought a number of practical changes to municipal governance.

In particular, the structure of the Mykolaiv City Council was rebuilt: unnecessary managerial levels and duplication of functions were removed. New units also began operating:

• Internal Audit Service;
• Corporate Governance Implementation Department.

Changes also affected the management of municipal enterprises. A KPI system is already in place for three municipal enterprises. Integrity assessments were conducted, allowing risks to be identified and ways to mitigate them determined.

There are specific results at city enterprises:

• At «Mykolaivelektrotrans», a supervisory board was formed following an open competition.
• At «Mykolaivvodokanal», internal audit was introduced and a reorganization carried out. The head of the enterprise was elected through an open competition for the first time.

The city also received its first Integrity Plan. The document identifies the main risks in the city council’s activities and concrete actions to eliminate them.

Another area of work is the reform of technical supervision. Its goal is to ensure that funds directed to construction and restoration are used as efficiently as possible. This work is still ongoing.

Among the next steps named by the mayor:

• forming a new supervisory board for «Mykolaivoblteploenergo»;
• developing digital tools for managing municipal assets;
• updating the Mykolaiv City Council website;
• further changes in the operation of municipal enterprises.

Explaining the purpose of the reforms, Oleksandr Sienkevych noted:

“For me it is important that all these reforms not only look right on paper, but deliver concrete results for the city: fewer risks, more efficient use of funds and better services for Mykolaiv residents.”

The mayor thanked EUACI head Allan Pagh Christensen, the initiative’s team, the European Union and Denmark for the partnership. He also congratulated the United Kingdom and Germany on joining the initiative.

Source: Mykolaiv City Council.

Earlier we wrote:

• The five for oversight of “Mykolaivelektrotrans”: who is vying for seats on the supervisory board
• Millions under control? A supervisory board for «Mykolaivvodokanal» with foreigners and lawyers was approved
• Supervisory boards: will tariffs rise after “Sienkevych’s reforms” at municipal enterprises?
• Achievements of the director of “Mykolaivvodokanal”: non-transparent contracts, a new house and a daughter in a “Gelik”
• Investigation: prices for the reconstruction of the water pipeline to Mykolaiv are inflated 2–3 times