NACP asks Sienkevych to create an independent and autonomous anti-corruption unit in Mykolaiv City Hall

In July, NAPC Head Viktor Pavlushchyk met with Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych and Head of the Military Audit Office Vitalii Kim in Mykolaiv, photo by the City Council press service

The National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) has recommended that Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych establish an authorised independent and functionally independent anti-corruption unit in the city council.

This is stated in a letter signed by NAPC head Viktor Pavlushchyk to the mayor of Mykolaiv, a copy of which was obtained by NikVesti.

The letter states that the need to create an authorised unit at the level of the city council is stipulated by the law «On Prevention of Corruption». The status of such a unit is determined by the law and the Model Regulation approved by the NACP in 2021.

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«The authorised unit is the primary link of the anti-corruption infrastructure, which is designed to help heads of local self-government bodies, deputies of local councils, and local self-government officials prevent violations of the Law», the letter says.

The document contains criteria for determining the staffing of the anti-corruption unit, including the number of officials and deputies, the number of enterprises and other institutions of the city council.

NAPC asks to create an independent anti-corruption body in Mykolaiv City Hall, NikVesti screen shot of letter to Oleksandr Senkevych

The NACP asks to create an independent anti-corruption body in Mykolaiv City Hall, NikVesti screenshot from a letter to Oleksandr Senkevych

«Currently, the Mykolaiv City Council has established an authorised unit with a staff of 3 employees (Corruption Prevention and Detection Unit of the Department of Internal Financial Control, Supervision and Counteraction to Corruption of the Mykolaiv City Council)», the letter says.

It should be noted that in late August, Mykolaiv City Council approved an updated structure of the executive bodies of the city hall, which, in particular, provides for the liquidation of the anti-corruption department as an independent structural unit and its merger with the executive committee. During the session, city council member Andrii Yermolaiev, who headed the department, opposed the decision.

Read also: «I don`t give a shit about these telegram channels»: how the session of the Mykolaiv City Council was held on 28 August

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In its letter, the NACP notes that the authorised unit is established in the local self-government body as an «independent and functionally independent» unit whose purpose is to organise and implement measures to prevent and detect corruption.

«We recommend bringing the organisational structure of the Mykolaiv City Council in line with the provisions of the Law by providing the authorised unit with autonomy and functional independence», the letter signed by NACP Chairman Viktor Pavlushchyk says.

Read also: What is left of the Great Reform of Mykolaiv City Hall Structure and will be submitted to the session: Analysis of the draft decision

What Sienkevych proposes in the new structure of Mykolaiv City Hall

Back in April, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych presented a draft of a new structure of executive bodies, which was developed in accordance with the recommendation of the Ernst & Young audit . The new structure envisages a reduction in the number of key spending units, liquidation and consolidation of departments. At the same time, the mayor's office is not yet able to say how much the number of executive body officials and their maintenance costs will be reduced.

The draft of the new structure of Mykolaiv's executive authorities, presented in April 2025, screenshot from the mayor's presentation

At the same time, the draft of the new structure of executive bodies of Mykolaiv city council envisages an increase in the number of deputy mayors to seven. It is planned to create the position of vice mayor for digitalisation.

The draft of the new structure of the executive bodies of Mykolaiv City Council provides for a reduction in the powers of district administrations, which will no longer be the main spending units. The heads of the two districts, who are also deputies, publicly reacted to this: Oleksandr Bereza and Hanna Remennikova.

At the same time, it was reported that Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych believes that deputies should not combine representative and executive functions, and therefore should not hold positions in the executive bodies of the city council.