WASHINGTON — The US Treasury Department on Tuesday stated it had no indication that US funds had been misused in Ukraine, however would proceed to work carefully with Ukrainian authorities to make sure acceptable safeguards have been in place to avert corruption.
It was the Treasury’s first touch upon the problem after Ukraine’s authorities final week dismissed a slew of senior officers within the nation’s greatest political shake-up of the struggle following corruption allegations.
“We have no indication that US funds have been misused in Ukraine,” Treasury spokesperson Megan Apper stated in response to a question from Reuters. “We welcome the ongoing efforts by the Ukrainian authorities to work with us to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place so that US assistance reaches those for whom it is intended.”
Apper stated the Treasury would proceed to work carefully with the World Bank on monitoring US disbursements “to verify that they’re used as supposed, in addition to with Ukraine and different companions to deal with corruption.”
Democratic and Republican US lawmakers final week praised Ukraine’s authorities on Tuesday for taking swift motion towards corruption and insisted that US army and humanitarian help to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s authorities ought to proceed.
Ukraine has a protracted historical past of corruption in state-owned or managed firms. Zelenskiy has repeatedly stated there will likely be no tolerance for fraud or waste.
The World Bank has disbursed over $13 billion to Ukraine by means of its Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, as of December, a lot of it coming from the United States.
PEACE funds are disbursed to Ukrainian authorities a month after financial institution officers have verified that they’ve paid salaries to academics and civil servants and pension funds, which helps safeguard towards issues.
The financial institution final month advised Reuters it’s working with Ukraine to enhance its already well-regarded E-Government Procurement System known as ProZorro, including that digital system would assist guarantee transparency, integrity and ease of entry.
Ukraine ranks 116 out of 180 nations on the annual Corruption Perceptions Index launched Tuesday by Transparency International, up one rating from final yr.
Its rating on the index was 33 on a scale of 0-100, the place 0 means extremely corrupt and 100 means very clear. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
