Mykolaiv Lost the Development Agency's Supervisory Board Due to a Failure to File Declarations

In Mykolaiv, the Supervisory Board of the municipal agency “Mykolaiv Development Agency,” which began operations on December 2, 2025, has ceased its activities.

According to Anna Montavon, chair of the Supervisory Board of the municipal enterprise “Mykolaivvodokanal,” one of the reasons was an issue with asset declarations.

She stated that the supervisory board began its work on December 2, 2025. It consisted of seven members—Mykolaiv entrepreneurs and civic activists committed to contributing to the city’s development.

However, by December 31, 2025, the board’s activities had effectively ceased. As Montavon explained, the members of the supervisory board were not informed in advance of the need to file declarations and only learned of this obligation after they began their work.

In her view, responsibility for the situation lies not with the board members but with the city administration, which failed to ensure proper preparation for the launch of the new body.

“The main issue isn’t with these people. They came with the best of intentions. The main issue is with the system, which proved incapable of accommodating them,” she noted.

Montavon raised a number of questions regarding the implementation of corporate governance in Mykolaiv. Specifically, she asked who was supposed to explain the requirements of anti-corruption legislation, who was responsible for training supervisory board members, and whether procedures for their launch had been established in advance.

In her view, the situation points to chaotic management.

“If people only learn about their obligation to file declarations after they’ve already started working, if there’s no established process for launching the boards’ work, and if it’s not clear who is responsible for informing board members about their duties, restrictions, deadlines, and risks—that’s a chaotic situation. It’s a reactive system that only kicks in after a risk has already become a problem,” she emphasized.

Hanna Montavon also stated that due to such systemic errors, the city has already lost seven specialists who were ready to serve on the supervisory board, and warned of the risk of losing two more.

She proposed introducing a single, standardized procedure for establishing and launching supervisory boards. In particular, before beginning their work, each member of such a body should receive written explanations regarding legal requirements, filing deadlines, their responsibilities, and the contact information of the person in charge.

In conclusion, Montavon emphasized that the success of corporate governance reform depends not only on the creation of new bodies but also on the willingness of all participants in the process to acknowledge their own mistakes, address shortcomings, and take responsibility for their consequences.

Earlier, Intent reported that Montavon, the foreign chair of the supervisory board of “Mykolaivvodokanal,” was under police investigation.

Ірина Глухова