Parliament has appointed members of the Accounting Chamber despite the warnings of the G7 ambassadors. The ambassadors advised to wait until the reform is completed.
A total of 247 MPs voted for the appointment of four members. The decision was made with the votes of the Servant of the People party and the former Opposition Platform-For Life, MP Iryna Herashchenko, wrote on Telegram.
The following were elected to the Accounting Chamber:
- Olha Pishchanska, who had been running for the position of chairman. Today, parliament decided not to vote for her appointment - her candidacy did not receive the minimum required support during a check vote.
- Kyrylo Klymenko. According to his resume, he previously worked at the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Defence. In addition, the president's website contains an application from a person with the same name to participate in the selection to the High Council of Justice.
- Serhiy Klyuchko. Since March 2017, he has been working as a deputy director of the department and head of the state financial audit division at the State Audit Service.
- Yelyzaveta Pushko-Tsybulyak (accountant at the State Bureau of Investigation).
In total, 27 candidates took part in the competition.
The Accounting Chamber - what does it do and what does G7 have to do with it
- The Accounting Chamber is the body that controls the receipt and use of budget funds and is responsible for overseeing international aid. Recently G7 ambassadors said they were concerned about the intention to appoint new members this week. They said that before the reform law is passed, these appointments would undermine the credibility of the institution responsible for overseeing international aid.
- Earlier, the G7 ambassadors said that reforming the Accounting Chamber was a chance to "show the world that Ukraine is a good steward of international aid and the resources of its citizens". The diplomats stressed that the appointment of the new leadership should take place only after the adoption of legislation that "ensures a transparent and merit-based competition with proper vetting of candidates".
- Since September, Pishchanska has been groomed to replace Rustem Umerov, who is now heading the Defence Ministry, as the head of the State Property Fund. On 5 September, she resigned. However, another person, Vitaliy Koval, became the head of the SPF. Pishchanska was left without a job.
- Back in 2021, Bihus journalists wrote about Pishchanska's family's long-standing relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and she herself donated to him during the election campaign.
- The Accounting Chamber has been without a full-fledged chairman since April, when its head Patskan was voted out of office. He is a suspect in the case of illegal housing compensation in 2017-2018.