G7 ambassadors meet with PM, discuss reforms and reconstruction.

Ambassadors to Ukraine from the Group of Seven (G7) met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Aug.

2 to discuss the reforms needed for their country's private sectors to be involved in Ukraine's reconstruction. The meeting was described as a follow-up on the Ukraine Recovery Conference[1], which took place in London in June. The G7 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S.

"To involve the private sector in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, transparency and accountability are crucial," the group stated[2]. On Aug.

1, Transparency International Ukraine reported[3] on the "opaque" financing of the reconstruction of Irpin, a city outside Kyiv that suffered major damage under Russian occupation. So far, the researchers conclude that the total worth of contracts for rebuilding the city are worth Hr 933 million (£25 million) in total.

However, six companies with "a suspicious background" have been granted contracts worth Hr 434 million (£11.7 million), or almost half of the total amount. The G7 ambassadors "stressed the importance of the timely selection of the new head" of Ukraine's National Agency for Corruption Prevention, as well as the restoration of the asset declaration[4] system and political party financing reporting. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian authorities passed a law to allow officials not to file electronic asset declarations[5] and shut down public access to all previous declarations.

Officials will only have to resume submitting asset declarations within three months after the end of the war. Since September 2022, the Ukrainian authorities have promised to restore the asset declaration system. The issue is crucial for Ukraine's talks on joining the European Union and borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund.

They also called for the strengthening of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) and Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA[6]). The ambassadors "encouraged the adoption of laws to ensure a strong and independent Anti-Monopoly Committee," and to improve the corporate governance of state owned enterprises[7] in line with OECD guidelines.   The next Ukraine reconstruction conference will be held in Germany in 2024.

Elsa Court

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master's in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University.

Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor.

References

  1. ^ Ukraine Recovery Conference (kyivindependent.com)
  2. ^ stated (twitter.com)
  3. ^ reported (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ asset declaration (kyivindependent.com)
  5. ^ electronic asset declarations (kyivindependent.com)
  6. ^ ARMA (kyivindependent.com)
  7. ^ state owned enterprises (kyivindependent.com)

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