"Not
all legislative initiatives of the Government designed to curb corruption have
been supported by the Parliament yet. But I believe that the Parliament is
willing to curb corruption, to reduce the influence of power on economic
processes, and thus – to introduce economic freedoms for the Ukrainian economy
and the Ukrainian business", stressed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy
Yatsenyuk during the International Anti-Corruption Conference “Preventing. Fighting. Acting” on Monday, November 16.
The Head of Government stressed that the
current agenda for Ukraine contains two principal challenges: "The first
challenge is the fight against external aggression, Russian terrorism. The
second challenge is rooting out corruption".
He told about the steps made by the
Government over the last 20 months in the area of fighting corruption.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that the biggest
corruption entwined into the oil and gas sector in Ukraine:
"Gas oligarchs and billions of dollars pumped out of the national joint
stock company Naftogaz were destroying the state budget and created billionaires
at the expense of the budget funds and at the expense of money of the
taxpayers."
"We no longer have intermediaries in
the gas sector, we have deprived of illegal deals and kickbacks in the energy
sector. We have only direct agreements between the member countries of the
European Union, European companies and Ukraine. And we have only direct deals
between Ukraine and the European Union and a notorious company Gazprom",
said the Head of Government.
The state returned control over Ukrnafta in which it owns 51% of the shares:
"The Government of Ukraine submitted the relevant law to the Parliament.
The law was passed and signed by the President. Ukrnafta got a new chairman who was elected
through a transparent and open competition. This company has now embarked on a
complete change in the composition of the Management Board and the Supervisory
Board and, the most essential - the system and the management structure of the
company".
The PM emphasized that in the last 20 years
tycoons had been formed in Ukraine primarily due to shadow privatization,
covered straightforwardly by previous governments, "was created for a
particular buyer instead of attracting foreign investors, but created favorable
environment for emerging the Ukrainian oligarchs through such shadow
privatization schemes".
Over the last 20 months there have not been
operated any shadow privatization schemes in Ukraine, said the Head of
Government.
Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded that due to the
imperfect law on privatization and the lack of a new form of assessment for
privatization objects, the Government had stopped the privatization of one of
the largest public facilities - the Odessa Port Plant: "We were aware that
the current legislation provides an opportunity to buy for the so-called
investor 5% of shares, and we knew who was ready to buy these 5% to prevent a
real foreign investor from buying the remaining 95% through an open auction."
The Government submitted to Parliament bills
on changing the conditions of privatization and the list of privatization
objects. However, stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk, it had been the sixth time when
the MPs had refused to back these legislative initiatives.
The Cabinet of Ministers also held a civil
service reform. To ensure implementation of the law on purification of
government there were dismissed from high posts of the Ukrainian public
authorities over 700 civil servants: "These are first deputy ministers,
deputy ministers, 42% of the top leadership of the State Fiscal Service. It
makes up 15% of the staff of the State Fiscal Service in the regions".
"The implementation of the law of
Ukraine about the cleansing power is another step in the fight against
corruption", added the Head of Government.
The Government established a National
Anti-Corruption Agency – a preventive authority with a function to verify the
declarations of public servants, incomes, property of each civil servant"
and check what they spent and what they wrote in the Declaration":
"The National Anti-Corruption Agency will be formed. The Government agreed
with public organizations and our western partners and completely changed an
order of forming of the competition commission. The competition commission is
independent, and it is due to elect a chairman of the National Anti-corruption
Agency and relevant deputy heads".
Arseniy Yatsenyuk accentuated that Ukraine is
among few countries in Europe that fully opened registries of property:
"Now, anyone can obtain data through the website of the Ministry of
Justice of Ukraine about what the Prime Minister of Ukraine has in possession,
what any other leader of any ministry possesses, who is an owner of a
particular immovable property, shares, businesses. This is another part of our
anti-corruption strategy – full transparency and access to all databases. And
we will prolong our actions in this issue".
In addition, the Government has embarked on
deregulation: "We have halved the number of different controlling
authorities, licences,
permits, that were the source of nothing but bribes and bureaucracy in the
country".
"Unfortunately, not all legislative
initiatives have been supported by the Parliament. But I believe that the Parliament is willing to curb corruption, to
reduce the influence of power on economic processes, and thus – to introduce
economic freedoms for the Ukrainian economy and the Ukrainian business",
summed up the Prime Minister of Ukraine.
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