Helping Verkhovna Rada effectively perform its oversight function

With the support of the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program, the Temporary Special Commission of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Protection of the Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Other Persons Affected by the Russian Armed Aggression against Ukraine held an offsite meeting in Odesa Oblast last week.

Members of the Ukrainian Parliament talked to IDPs, checked their living conditions and the protection of their rights, as well as the efficiency of budget spending by state authorities and local governments in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

According to Pavlo Frolov, MP and chairman of the Temporary Special Commission, following the meeting, MPs will appeal to the Prime Minister of Ukraine to ensure:

• implementation of the government's decision to ban the suspension of housing and communal services for non-payment or debt collection for the period of their provision during the occupation;
• efficiency of social services and increased funding for social assistance services;
• conducting support measures for children who have received the status of a child of war;
• The program is available to Ukrainians whose manor-type houses of summer cottages and garden cooperatives that are not included in the address book have been destroyed or damaged;
• water supply in the Kherson region, in particular through the construction of artesian wells and proper financing.

The USAID RADA: Next Generation Program supports the activities of temporary special commissions of the Verkhovna Rada to strengthen parliamentary control over issues of importance to the country, including martial law. It also contributes to policy improvement.

"Parliamentary oversight is an important factor in the evaluation and reformulation of policies. This is especially true when it comes to policies for vulnerable groups of citizens. Today, the RADA: Next Generation Program supports the parliament's efforts to build effective parliamentary oversight as a component of public policy making," said Igor Kogut, Senior Strategic Advisor of the Program.