DIAM is covering up corruption schemes by refusing to provide information in response to requests, says an expert
Heorhiy Mohylnyy wrote about this on his Facebook page.
According to him, the State Inspectorate of Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine, in its responses to requests for access to public information, refuses to provide expert reports on construction projects, arguing that it is not the custodian of such data.
“DIAM replies that it is not the custodian of information regarding expert reports on construction projects, on the basis of which DIAM itself issues building permits or registers changes to permits in connection with project adjustments. This is tantamount to claiming that DIAM has no access to project expert reports and issues permits without having the slightest idea what the experts have written,” writes the expert.
Heorhii Mohylnyi emphasises that, in accordance with paragraph 15 of the Procedure for the Approval of Construction Projects and the Conduct of Their Expert Review (approved by CMU Resolution No. 560 of 11 May 2011, as amended), the report on the results of the expert review (including its annexes) and the protocols of their automatic verification are created exclusively as electronic documents using the Register of Construction Activities, are public, freely accessible and published on the electronic system’s portal.
“The only thing is that the EDESSB is nothing but a scam, where the money from Western donors for its development was squandered and an incomprehensible system was created that does not meet the requirements of the law. The examination reports, as well as the protocols of their automatic verification, ARE NOT public, generally accessible and ARE NOT published on the portal. Incidentally, this is also currently the fault of Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba,” noted Heorhii Mohylnyi, emphasising that information which, by law, must be published in the EDESSB is not being published, and the custodian of this information, DIAM, refuses to provide it even upon request.
“EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, is this what Oleksandr Novytskyi was lying to you about at the meeting – how DIAM makes everything open and public to prevent corruption? It is illegal to refuse to provide public information upon request, because in this way they are concealing corruption at DIAM when issuing permits for illegal construction – is that the very transparency, openness and fight against corruption?”, the expert concluded, noting that the Cabinet of Ministers should conduct an internal investigation into this matter.
As a reminder, the government recently adopted a comprehensive package of measures initiated by the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development, aimed at simplifying regulation in the construction sector and accelerating the implementation of reconstruction projects. These measures are intended to remove systemic barriers that have hindered the sector’s development and make the rules of operation clear and predictable for all market participants.
