The Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has passed a law strengthening the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU). It is to be approved by president Zelenskyy to take effect. This might make IMF more willing to send a new tranche to Ukraine.
Yesterday, the Verkhovna Rada approved a second reading of a new law that will drastically strengthen the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, NABU. It would also take away some power from the President of Ukraine, writes Kyiv Post. The law still needs to be signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take effect.
Most notably, the law changes the process of appointing the head the agency. Currently, it is the president that elects the director of NABU, but should the bill be passed, that power is moved to a committee of six members where three of them are elected by the Cabinet of Ministers and the other three will be chosen from international organizations.
NABU would also become a central executive body with a special status. The Cabinet of Ministers will be overseeing the work of the agency, but they will not have the power to overturn the actions of NABU. It is designed to make NABU less vulnerable against political influence.
According to Kyiv Post, the law is a requirement from IMF, who reportedly are close to resuming their lending to Ukraine. Ukraine was promised a 5 billion USD loan in June 2020, but after the first tranche was paid out, the cooperation between Ukraine and IMF worsened and the country has since been struggling with getting the funds.
The law is very similar to the proposed judicial reform, where two similar committees with members elected by the judiciary and international organization will be in charge of hiring and firing judges.
