On November 21, 2017, the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities represented by the Deputy Minister of Construction Lev Partskhaladze and the NGO “Together against corruption”, the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the NGO “Better Regulation Delivery Office” (BRDO), the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, the Construction Chamber of Ukraine, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine, the Institute of Architecture, Urban and Regional Studies at NSAU, the SE “DIPROMISTO” and the SE “UkrNDIprocivilbud” represented by their representatives singed a Memorandum of cooperation on the development and implementation of the concept of public administration in construction.
“This concept will allow to gather all information on construction permits and make it public creating a single public source of relevant and reliable information – the Urban Planning Cadastre. It will contain all data on construction from the State Land Cadastre, the State Register of Rights to Immovable Property, geospatial data of technical inventory and registration of immovable property items as well as the unified address register. This will make construction-related activities more transparent and easier, reduce possible corruption risks and improve the investment climate,” Lev Partskhaladze said before signing the Memorandum.
In turn, the coordinator of the government and public initiative “Together against corruption” Oksana Velychko noted that an important step was not only the development of the concept, but also its implementation. “It is very pleasant that government authorities meet the needs and actively cooperate with the public. I hope that our further join work will be successful and the new concept will be effective. We will involve as much public representatives and experts as possible in developing this important document. There is a lot of work to be done and it is related not only to the concept development, but also to its implementation,” she said.
“Our task is to achieve a balance of interests of all stakeholders: the public, the government and businesses. The signing of this Memorandum is a very important event for the urban development area. We are making an important step towards the development of a clear strategy in urban planning,” the President of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine Volodymyr Husakov said.
Mathias Brandt, the Director of the GIZ project “Integrated Development of Cities in Ukraine: “We are very pleased to contribute to the development of this Concept, share our experience and experience of Western governments. Transparency in construction is very important today. It will help create new jobs, implement new important projects and, most importantly, ensure the sustainable development of cities.”
Olena Shulyak, the Construction Sector Head at BRDO: “The Better Regulation Delivery Office is working to systematically review the construction markets and regulatory instruments in the sector. And many aspects are related to information. We will be very glad if the assistance of our specialists in the development of the new Concept makes this process more transparent and effective.”
Vitaly Hrusevych, the Executive Director of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine: “To my mind, both the initiative to create the concept of public administration in construction and the signing of the multilateral memorandum on its development are very important steps. We face many tasks, because this concept raises issues that are of high relevance today. We should do everything to achieve a successful outcome.”
“I am very glad that government authorities involve more and more public representatives in solving important state issues. I am sure that we will achieve a great result only with joint efforts, together with
non-governmental organizations and all interested parties,” the First Vice-President of the Construction Chamber of Ukraine Stanislav Stashevsky said.
Ivan Shpylevsky, the Director of the SE “Y.Bilokon Ukrainian State Scientific-Research Institute of Urban Design “DIPROMISTO”: “The signing of the Memorandum on the development of the public administration concept is the legal consolidation of the work performed by the Ministry of Regional Development and non-governmental organizations and research institutes on improving the situation in the construction market of Ukraine today.”
“It is necessary to ensure creating a situation when a consensus on the interests of all parties, in particular, citizens, investors, builders and designers, will be reached. There is an acute social need for such a concept. And this can really be the effective public administration based on new approaches and opportunities,” the Director of the SE State Scientific, Research and Design Institute for Civil Construction “UKRNDPICIVILBUD” Oleksandr Chyzhevsky said.
“No other sector in Ukraine has set a similar task yet. We launched a very important and responsible initiative, which will improve construction activities. The developed concept can serve as an example of implementing public and transparent approaches for all other sectors,” the Director of the Institute of Architecture, Urban and Regional Studies at NSAU Yuriy Chudnovsky added.
The concept of public administration will contain the basic principles of implementing e-government in urban development activities. Its implementation will help:
- improve administration processes;
- simplify and accelerate permitting procedures in construction;
- reduce corruption risks;
- improve the investment climate.
According to the Memorandum, the parties agreed to cooperate in the development, public presentation, open discussions and adaptation of the Concept, its approval by the Government as well as in drafting regulatory acts for its implementation.