By Oleksandr Nepomnyashchyy, President, Interstate Consultants Engineers Guild

In Ukrainian communities, they are increasingly talking about “fear of signature,” a situation when heads of institutions, managers of budgetary funds, or leaders of communities are afraid of participating in construction projects and sign the respective documents. This fear has become especially acute during the reconstruction period with a growing number of projects when the attention of oversight agencies, donors, and the public has got even more vigilant. Every signed certificate or BoQ can now be a reason for an audit, inspection, or even criminal proceedings.

It is essential to understand that in most cases, it is not about corrupt or cash-in intentions. The reason is much simpler and at the same time, more systematic – the clients are made responsible for technically complex solutions they cannot handle professionally. A school principal, hospital or utility director is no civil engineer or quantity surveyor, but they have to make decisions bearing engineering, financial, and organizational consequences and be personally responsible for them.

With such a model, even a conscientious client finds themselves in a high-risk area. Formally, they sign the documents whose content they cannot always assess professionally. A mistake in the technical solution, an unsuitable BoQ, or an error in the design documents can easily turn into administrative or criminal liability. That brings about excessive carefulness, procrastination, or even refusal to take part in recovery projects.

This reasoned “fear of signature” is not a problem of specific people but a symptom of a larger gap in the system. It is about absence of a clearly defined professional role in projects, which would ensure project management, clarification of technical solutions, and mitigation of risks for the client. Unless this gap is realized and settled, the “fear of signature” will remain a systematic challenge to Ukrainian communities. We are going to talk about it a little later. And now just ask yourself, as a client, are you scared of signing the papers?