Transparency and Accountability. Vinnytsia Has Joined the Fiscal Governance for Local Recovery and Reconstruction (FG4R) Project

Vinnytsia is among the top three most transparent cities in Ukraine according to the Transparency Rating of Ukrainian Cities by Transparency International Ukraine's Transparent Cities programme. On 14 November, the city took another step in this direction when Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov and Jean-Luc Bernasconi, Deputy Head of Mission and Head of Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine, signed a Memorandum of Cooperation within the framework of the international project Fiscal Governance for Local Recovery and Reconstruction (FG4R), implemented by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The document opens up opportunities for further improvement of the community's financial management: from strengthening the revenue administration system to better planning and use of budget funds. The tools introduced will help to work more efficiently with resources, support economic activity, attract investment and create better conditions for business development in Vinnytsia, noted Vinnytsia Mayor Serhii Morhunov.

'Vinnytsia ranks high in terms of financial transparency and openness. We want the community to remain strong, capable of using resources rationally and attracting investment for community development. Therefore, together with our partners from SECO, we are taking steps towards modern, open and effective city management that is trusted not only by citizens but also by international partners,' emphasised Serhii Morhunov.

In fact, the Fiscal Governance for Local Recovery and Reconstruction (FG4R) project is designed to last four years and will involve only five communities – Vinnytsia, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Chernivtsi and Khmelnytskyi. Its implementation will contribute to the introduction of modern European practices in the budget process and complement the achievements that Vinnytsia already has.

‘We expect this cooperation to be an important step in increasing the city's openness, implementing digital solutions and strengthening our transparency and openness,’ added Serhii Morhunov.

Vinnytsia City Council has many years of experience working with and receiving ongoing support from the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine, which has been going on for almost 20 years. As part of the project Effective Local Financial Management in Ukraine (September 2021 – March 2022), experts assessed the effectiveness of the community's financial management based on 32 indicators for 2018–2020. Based on the results of the assessment, a PEFA report was prepared at the subnational level, and Vinnytsia City Council received high marks for the work of its financial and economic unit.

In 2024, at the request of SECO, the All-Ukrainian NGO ‘Institute for Budget and Socio-Economic Research’ conducted a review mission and assessed the community's needs in the field of public financial management at the regional and municipal levels in Ukraine.

Project representatives provided more details about the components that make up the project:

• Component 1. Budget transparency and accountability

• Component 2. Revenue and debt management

• Component 3. Medium-term budgeting and investment management

• Component 4. Training, experience sharing and communication

The first stage of the project will be to analyse the city's financial system and prepare a roadmap for change, which will define a consistent and systematic approach to the further development of the community. As part of this work, it is also planned to launch training events and consultations for financial departments.