Possible cartel collusion among developers. What other risks did Chatham House identify in the clone resolution of the urban planning ‘reform’?

The government resolution replicates a series of provisions of the controversial urban planning “reform” (5655), which President Volodymyr Zelensky refused to sign. This is stated in the document “Strengthening Long-Term Stability in Ukraine. Fighting Corruption in Times of War“, published by Chatham House — the Royal Institute of International Affairs (London).

The text mentions that such a policy “restricts local self-government in planning and implementing urban development, weakens anti-corruption and public oversight… There is a risk that imperfect regulation may lead to construction cartels.”

In this section of the Chatham House report, reference is made to an analytical article by the civic initiative “Holka” (The Needle): “Clone of the scandalous urban planning reform. What Kubrakov slipped under the Christmas tree,” in which analyst Georgiy Mohylnyi analyzed bill 5655 by MP Olena Shuliak (“Servant of the People”) and the government resolution clone submitted by the Ministry of Regional Development.

Excerpt from the report Chatham House. “Building long-term resilience in Ukraine. The battle with corruption in wartime”

“There are risks that new vested interests will emerge seeking to preserve the current system… Civil society is concerned that new interest groups may emerge around reconstruction funds, and 50% of respondents in a survey of the civil sector conducted by Chatham House noted such a risk. One of the sectors at risk in this regard is the construction industry… Significant portions of national and local budgets will be allocated to social housing and new infrastructure. It is projected that this sector will grow and consolidate with large companies providing up to 80% of construction needs nationwide. Currently, this particular sector poses numerous corruption risks,” state the authors of the document, John Lough and Orysia Lutsevych.

Separately, the document discusses the development of a Urban Planning Code by Ukraine, which is intended to be created in accordance with European practices and is currently being worked on by a working group in the Verkhovna Rada led by MP Hanna Bondar (“Servant of the People”).

In addition to urban planning reform, Chatham House in this document also mentions judicial reform as one of the priorities.

It is worth noting that on December 13, 2023, on the anniversary of the adoption of the scandalous urban planning “reform,” criticized by the European Parliament and the European Commission, a government resolution clone of bill 5655 was supposed to be voted on during a government meeting. However, after this became known through “Dzerkalo Tyzhnya” sources, consideration of the resolution was postponed.

The civic initiative “Needle” managed to ascertain that the author of the document with the draft government resolution uploaded to the government website is Oleksandra Marusheva. She may be associated with developers, in particular with former Opposition Platform – For Life MP Dmytro Isaenko, secretary of the Committee on Construction of State Power and Local Self-Government.

For reference: Chatham House, also known as the Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a leading global think tank headquartered in London. Its mission is to help governments and societies build a sustainable, secure, prosperous, and just world.