The expenses of the capital budget for the business trip of Kyiv officials to Berlin to participate in the investment forum have raised numerous questions regarding the effectiveness of public funds usage.
This is reported by Kyiv24
High Costs for a Short Event
The delegation of the Kyiv City State Administration, led by Deputy Head Marina Honda and Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture Oleksandr Svystunov, traveled to Berlin for the investment forum. According to the official response from KMDA, the officials received per diems and compensation for additional expenses, totaling over seven million hryvnias for the Kyiv budget.
It was specifically noted that Marina Honda received over 74 thousand hryvnias in compensation for just a five-day business trip. Meanwhile, the forum itself lasted only one day, raising questions about the duration of the trip and the appropriateness of such payments.
“The report on the forum states that many negotiations and panel discussions took place, outlining intentions to plan and agreements ‘on possible cooperation.’ However, no specific cases or projects have been agreed upon as a result of the trip so far.”
Low Number of Participants and Lack of Results
The organizers of the forum sent out 2,500 invitations, and another 357 people registered to participate online. However, only 172 participants were physically present at the event, making the expenses of over 7 million hryvnias particularly noticeable against such a small number of attendees.
The outcomes of the forum boil down to declarations of intent, plans to ‘continue the dialogue,’ and a promise to hold a similar event next year. No specific agreements or approved projects for Kyiv have been made public as a result of the trip.
Thus, the questions regarding the appropriateness of the expenses and the effectiveness of the city officials’ business trip remain open to the public.