Ukrainian NGO collaborates with local government to repair a vital roadway 

“It is great when the result of our work is a repaired road, on which children go to school and which is extremely important for the region.” – Olga Nos 

Over the past six months, Olga Nos has worked with the Construction Sector Transparency (CoST) Initiative Ukraine, which is supported by USAID’s Support for Anti-Corruption Champion Institutions (SACCI) activity, to advocate for road improvements. 

Since the start of 2019, SACCI has helped CoST Ukraine train nearly 200 representatives of oblast administrations, civil society organizations, amalgamated communities, and regional media outlets, on how to monitor road construction. The representatives from 12 oblasts come from Sumy, Lviv, Khmelnitsky, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Poltava, Zaporizhia, Volyn, Chernihiv, Kherson, Kyiv, and Odesa. CoST selected three regional coordinators from among the participants, including Ms. Nos.  

"The experience I gained from this endeavor is very important for me as a representative of civil society,” Nos explained. “Such support enables participants to professionally monitor the procurement and quality of road construction, develop an expert opinion, and effectively interact with local authorities and members of the public.”       

Olga put these skills to use in a successful collaboration with Obukhiv Rayon Councilmember Alexei Novokhatko to get a crucial road, used by the whole region, repaired. In the beginning of August 2019, the Village of Trypilia and the Obukhiv Rayon Administration made appeals to Kyiv’s Regional Agency for Road Services for the holistic rehabilitation of all hazardous potholes on the village’s main road, but they failed to generate any momentum. However, when Olga used her newfound knowledge to help Councilmember Novokhatko more effectively submit an appeal, funds were immediately allocated for repairs.  As a result, not only were all hazardous potholes on the five-kilometer segment of the road in Trypilia fixed by August 20th, but over a few more weeks, 41 kilometers of the road in all were patched. Moreover, the Regional Agency made plans for a full capital repair of the road in 2020.  

This experience demonstrates the impact of the CoST initiative and serves as a model for future interactions between activists, local governments, and regional agencies. Nos stated, “It is great when the result of our work is a repaired road on which children go to school and which is extremely important for the region.” She added, “This outcome was made possible thanks to the valuable information I learned during my trainings and while working for the project.”  

A video detailing the success of this story can be found here.