The State Audit Service of Ukraine wants to destroy the Scientific Committee of the National Council for Science and Technology: the essence of the conflict
The Ukrainian media have repeatedly reported on the arbitrariness of the State Audit Service of Ukraine, which, often under the guise of an audit, openly blocked the work of state-owned enterprises and organizations, in particular, blocking of Luch KB. There were also accusations against the head of the SASU Alla Basalaeva because of possible work for Russia in a full-scale war. However, Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies still do not pay attention to the outright anti-Ukrainian activities of this strange organization. Recently, another scandal arose because someone in the SASU (or the President’s Office) did not like the work of Ukrainian scientists who, despite all the difficulties and harmful actions of the authorities at all times, continue to work.
Thus, the State Audit Service of Ukraine (SASU) and the Scientific Committee of the National Council of Ukraine for the Development of Science and Technology have found themselves in conflict over the results of the audit of the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (NRFU).
The first stage of the conflict
In 2023, the SASU, on its own initiative, decided to conduct a state financial audit of the NFU, including it in the State Financial Control Action Plan for the third quarter of 2023. From September 29, 2023 to March 26, 2024, an eight-member team of auditors audited the implementation of the Fund’s budget program for the period from January 1, 2020 to June 30, 2023. An audit of certain issues of financial and economic activities of the NFDU was also conducted, which lasted from December 20, 2023 to January 30, 2024.
Following the audit, the SASU sent a letter dated March 29, 2024, to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, in which it expressed a number of criticisms, including accusations of damage to the state budget, ineffective management of the Fund and corruption in the competitive selection process.
Response of the Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee, which performs the functions of the NRFU’s supervisory board, considers these accusations to be groundless. According to the Committee, the SASU’s position poses a threat to the development of the system of grant support for scientific research in Ukraine. In response to the accusations, the Scientific Committee sent a letter to the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, in which it refuted the SASU’s allegations in detail.
The other side of the conflict: the opinion of scholars
Anton Senenko, a senior researcher at the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, also spoke about the activities of SASU. He cites examples of absurd accusations made by the SASU, such as the case when scientists were accused of shelling a nature reserve during military exercises. He also recalls that during the audit of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the SASU claimed that the functions of the Institute of Botany and the Institute of Evolutionary Ecology were duplicated. Senenko emphasizes that the NRFU was created to distribute research funds to the best scientists to ensure the efficiency and transparency of this process. Thanks to the NRFU grants, scientists are able to purchase expensive equipment and receive decent salaries, allowing them to focus on science rather than on part-time jobs to feed their families.
Problems of the NFU audit
The SASU presented a 122-page report, which states that the salaries of researchers under the projects of the National Research Foundation are too high compared to the average salaries of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Senenko believes such arguments are groundless, since the SASU does not take into account the specifics of grant support and the requirements for remuneration of highly qualified specialists.
In response, the NFDU prepared 91 pages of objections to the SASU report, in which it explains in detail why the auditors’ conclusions are incorrect. They emphasize that the SASU did not take into account the specifics of scientific projects and the requirements for their implementation.
Conclusions.
The conflict between the SASU and the NRFU demonstrates the problems in the approaches to assessing the effectiveness of scientific activities and the allocation of budget funds in Ukraine. On the one hand, auditors believe that the funds are used inefficiently, while the scientific community defends the transparency and validity of grant distribution. This conflict emphasizes the need to improve approaches to controlling and supporting scientific research in Ukraine. Also, the nature of the audit of the SASU is seen to be ordered. After all, there is a lot of corruption in Ukraine from the Office of the President and Yermak in particular. Among the latter is a large-scale embezzlement of the construction of fortifications, to which, for some reason, the SASU has no complaints. But there are always complaints about those who work bravely and impartially for Ukraine’s defense. In particular, the SASU has blocked and continues to block a number of Ukrainian defense companies, blocking their accounts and thus blocking their work. And some enterprises even suffered from Russian shelling because the SASU interfered with the work of secret enterprises and “leaked” data to traitors of Ukraine.
