Ukraine to work out mechanism for auditing U.S. donor aid

MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - Ukraine's Recovery Ministry together with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO) will work out a mechanism for coordinating and auditing donor assistance provided for post-crisis recovery projects in Ukraine, Ukrainian media outlets said, citing a social media post published by Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery and Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Minister Alexander Kubrakov.

Such a mechanism will involve the implementation of procurement procedures of international financial institutions, Kubrakov said.

This decision was discussed at a meeting which took place during a visit to Ukraine by representatives from the U.S. Department of State Office of Inspector General, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General. The aim of their visit was to discuss the accountability of the use of U.S. assistance provided to Ukraine.

"At the meeting, we discussed the mechanisms and procedures for transparency and accountability in the use of funds and assistance that Ukraine receives for its post-crisis recovery. We proposed creating a relevant mechanism for auditing the U.S. aid for recovery projects together with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (U.S. GAO)," Kubrakov said.

Hopefully, the new mechanisms will become an effective tool to ensure transparency in the use of aid from partners, he said.

The State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of the Infrastructure of Ukraine, established on January 13, will become part of these processes.

U.S. GAO provides Congress, the main executive agencies and the public with information that can be used to improve government and save taxpayers billions of dollars, according to the GAO website.

GAO does its work at the request of congressional committees or subcommittees per Congressional Protocols. GAO celebrated a century of service in 2021.

As reported earlier, USAID opened a hotline in Ukraine for anonymous reports about corruption related to U.S. military assistance provided to Ukraine, sexual violence, fraud, embezzlement, abuse, misuse of funds, and human trafficking.