The United States Will Invest $20 Million to Further Bolster Transparency in Direct Budget Support Provided to the Government of Ukraine
As Putin’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues, the United States remains committed to ensuring the Government of Ukraine is able to deliver critical services to its people in an efficient and transparent manner. The U.S. government is allocating an additional $20 million to further enhance oversight and transparency in the direct budget support the U.S. provides to Ukraine.
Announced today by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), this new funding, which has been made possible by Congress, will further reinforce oversight and accountability of the Ukrainian government’s management of assistance funds that help lay the groundwork for Ukraine’s recovery.
The Ukrainian government relies on budget support to continue supplying emergency services for internally displaced persons and supporting public employees across institutions – from healthcare providers and first responders to education – who deliver critical services to the people of Ukraine. USAID has built a comprehensive and robust level of oversight and accountability into this assistance to monitor the use of funds and prevent and counter corruption to ensure funding reaches Ukrainians in need.
The United States, through USAID in coordination with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, provides direct budget support to the Government of Ukraine through the World Bank on a reimbursement basis, where funding is disbursed only after expenses claimed have been verified by the World Bank. USAID has also engaged Deloitte to work with Ukraine’s Ministry of Finance and other Ukrainian government institutions to review and advise on protocols for the use of direct budget support and to oversee and report on the use of these funds. With the additional funds announced today, USAID will expand on these efforts by continuing the essential monitoring work managed by Deloitte; increase transparency and oversight of financial transfers and disbursements by Ukraine’s government through electronic payment systems and end-user monitoring; and procuring an additional third-party, independent audit of direct budget support payments.
This announcement follows Administrator Samantha Power and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen’s meetings with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, where they reaffirmed that accountability and transparency remain an utmost priority both to protect U.S. taxpayer dollars and to ensure the funds continue to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian people.
Bolstering the Government of Ukraine upholds the principles of the UN Charter and is critical for ensuring Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s unprovoked and brutal invasion. The United States will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes.
