Expert: The level of theft of money allocated for road repairs is much higher than official figures

The level of theft of money allocated for road maintenance from the state budget is much higher than official sources say.

This opinion was expressed by Viktor Medvid, head of the Human Rights Movement "Vzaymodopomosch" and director of the consulting company "William Invest Expert", in a commentary to a GolosUA correspondent.

"The level of theft of money allocated for road construction and maintenance is much higher than the NBU says. The state budget allocated more than UAH 60 billion for road repairs in the country. Also, out of this amount, approximately 30% are not effectively used. This, in turn, amounts to tens of billions of hryvnias," the expert said.

Mr. Medved also added that the figures announced today by the SBU regarding Ukravtodor's misappropriation of UAH 30 million are, in fact, a pittance.

"As for the lowest-quality roads in Ukraine, these are traditionally Kirovohrad, partly Ivano-Frankivsk, and all those regions that make up Western Ukraine," the expert noted.

The interlocutor also pointed out that the transfer of roads of national importance to the jurisdiction of the regions (as stated in the draft law registered in the Verkhovna Rada on September 21) is not correct.

"Roads of national importance have their status precisely because they must be maintained by national companies. In addition, the amount of money allocated for the maintenance of these roads can significantly exceed the capabilities of regional budgets," Medved said.

As a reminder, on September 21, the Verkhovna Rada registered draft law No. 9124 "On Amendments to Article 8 of the Law 'On Roads'", in which the Cabinet of Ministers proposes that the Verkhovna Rada classify 14,000 km of roads of national importance as roads of local importance.

In the explanatory note, the government notes that 14 thousand km of territorial public roads of national importance are not used for transit traffic and do not play a significant role in transport links in the country as a whole, but actually perform these functions at the regional level. In connection with this, the Cabinet of Ministers explains, there was a need to introduce the second stage of decentralization of public roads management, namely, to classify them as local roads.