Mustafa Nayyem resigns as head of Ukraine's State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development

Mustafa Nayyem has written a letter of resignation from his position as head of Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, stating that the reason for this was systematic obstruction of his work.

Source: Nayyem on Facebook

Quote from Nayyem: "I am stepping down from the position of Head of the Restoration Agency. I made this decision independently due to systematic obstructions that prevent me from effectively carrying out my duties.

Since last November, the agency team has faced constant opposition, resistance, and the creation of artificial barriers."

Details: He said that the Restoration Agency's budget for road repair and maintenance projects has been completely cancelled.

"I understand the limited resources and the importance of military spending. However, the cancellation of funds for infrastructure maintenance will inevitably affect the condition of roads of strategic importance and, consequently, all military logistics. If this does not change, we will face complications in military logistics and product exports next season," explained Nayyem.

Another reason for his decision was that the team began to be "harassed" by bureaucracy, with documents for payment of protective structures, fortifications, or repairs being approved by the government were returned 6–8 times with absurd comments and delayed for several months, and some are still not approved.

Nayyem said that right now, the government has not approved the payment of almost €150 million which was borrowed by the state from the EIB for critically important projects, including water supply and energy protection, for three months.

Quote from Nayyem: "All of this has consequences, which I have repeatedly officially reported. Delayed payment for contractors' work undermines trust in the state; delays in funding slow down, and in some areas completely stop building work, resulting in a loss of trust of the market, local authorities, and citizens. But most importantly, all of this negatively affects the country's defence capability, cargo logistics, the protection of critical infrastructure, and the export of our goods. It is clear that such actions will, sooner or later, lead to criticism of our team and dissatisfaction from international partners."

Details: Another reason Nayyem cited was the reduction in salaries for agency employees since the beginning of 2024.

Quote from Nayyem: "The majority of employees had their salaries cut by up to 68%. The government did this contrary to any logic and common sense. And no, we did not have astronomical salaries – a senior specialist at the agency was earning just over UAH 30,000, and now it's UAH 14,000. As a result, since the beginning of the year, we have already lost 25% of our staff, which I have repeatedly written about to the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, and the Ministry of Finance, and which has been repeatedly raised by G7 ambassadors in meetings with the head of the government."

The official is convinced that this was done deliberately so that the agency, which "to some extent has become a model for building processes from scratch," would be left without skilled and motivated people, and the agency itself would be deemed ineffective and unnecessary.

Nayyem emphasises that despite all these obstacles, during the entire period of the great war, they "have not failed or stopped a single project, a single military shipment, or a single evacuation route".

"To date, the agency is simultaneously coordinating work on 353 (!) reconstruction sites across the country. This is the most challenging work of my life.

In one year, we managed to implement numerous projects. After the liberation of the affected regions, we restored almost 1,300 km of roads and 330 bridges. We repaired 29 major checkpoints on the western border and began project work on the reconstruction and construction of two new checkpoints. After the Russian military blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam, we built 155 km of a main water pipeline in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in record time, which will provide drinking water to 1.5 million people," Nayyem said.

One of the largest projects of the agency, he noted, was the construction of protective structures against drones and missiles at 22 distribution substations belonging to Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national energy company, and the protection of 103 energy facilities from shrapnel damage.

Nayyem gave assurances that all work on protection against drones and shrapnel has been completed, and thanks to this, after the latest attack, energy workers were able to restore power supply in Kharkiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv oblasts in the shortest possible time.

"This was done without any unnecessary PR, ribbon-cutting, or photo shoots. It was our work, not a feat...

All this was possible thanks to the support of the Ministry and the minister, who allowed us to make independent decisions and achieve results without waiting to be stabbed in the back. With the minister's dismissal, this became impossible, and the last decision of the head of the government to cancel my official participation in the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin confirmed this," said Nayyem.

He acknowledged that "there were mistakes and shortcomings, without which it is impossible to implement projects of such complexity under such conditions," but assured that his team always responded and sought to do better.

"Obviously, we did not always fit into the current style and team of public administration. And I cannot rule out that there will be attempts to persecute and discredit our work in the public arena. In fact, this has been happening for a long time. I am ready for this and, before my resignation, I asked all law enforcement and regulatory authorities to take all measures to verify the legality and transparency of the decisions made by the agency," Nayyem emphasised.

He added that after writing his resignation letter, he said goodbye to the agency team and the heads of the Recovery Services in the oblasts, but he will continue to perform his duties until the government decides on his resignation and hands over the work to his successors.

"I am ready to do everything in my power to ensure that the agency continues to implement critically important projects for the country. Currently, our entire team and the Recovery Services in the oblasts are continuing to work as usual," the official summarised.

Support UP or become our patron!