Mykolaiv updates approaches to procurement of capital repairs and construction

In Mykolaiv, with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, a comprehensive update of procurement approaches was carried out. This involves full transparency at all stages of construction: from procurement of materials and services to technical supervision of the work.

This was reported by the press service of Mykolaiv City Council.

According to the press service, every resident of the city should have access to information on the efficiency of the use of budget funds, i.e. their taxes paid. In order to achieve this transparency, a comprehensive update of procurement approaches in the departments of the Mykolaiv City Council was carried out.

This applies to the Department of Housing and Communal Services and the Capital Construction Department, which will be the main customers in these areas in the coming years.

The new procurement process includes:

• Establishment of a procurement commission to ensure communication, awareness, decision-making, control and responsibility;
• Changing the approach to the formation and justification of procurement needs;
• Changing the approach to justifying the technical characteristics of the item;
• Unified approach to determining the expected value based on price monitoring;
• Simplification and unification of tender documentation.

New principles and approaches to procurement procedures are already being implemented in practice. Updated tender documents and policies are already being used to modernize canteens in four local schools.

Between January and September 2024, auditors completed 313 public procurement audits in Mykolaiv Oblast. After the procurement audits, the auditors returned financial and material resources worth UAH 72.8 million to the state. The monitoring helped to avoid violations in procurement worth almost UAH 276 million.

Mykolaiv City Council has also recently conducted anti-corruption checks on humanitarian aid. Utilities and all departments of the city council were inspected. During this time, 36 on-site inspections were conducted, covering 11 structural units and 25 utility companies. They checked the availability, accounting, storage and use of aid, including equipment, computers, generators, transport and construction materials.

The Danes are also going to prevent corruption and support Mykolaiv in this. All purchases made by the Danes are not made locally, but through international organizations, primarily the UN procurement agency. This is one of the ways to reduce the risk of corruption in the region.

Анна Бальчінос