President Petro Poroshenko noted that to reform in terms of hybrid war, in terms when one part of the territory is annexed and another is occupied is a very complicated task.
“We are moving forward. I share your dissatisfaction with the tempo. I understand how much it does not comply with expectations of the society. Obviously, there is a need to accelerate systematic modernization in all spheres,” the Head of State noted in his annual address to the Parliament.
The President emphasized that the anti-corruption reform was the toughest one, because corruption remained a weighty component of the political, economic and social systems. Moreover, not only formal, but also informal institutes suffer from it. “First of all, we should demonstrate to our society that the attack on corruption started from the top — then we would have a moral right to tackle it at every level,” the Head of State said.
The President stressed that relevant anti-corruption infrastructure had been created: NABU and SAP. The Head of State noted positive changes in prosecution: in 100 working days of the new Prosecutor General over 100 notable proceedings have been initiated and qualitative positive changes are being implemented with involvement of foreign experts. A large-scale purification of the Security Service from traitors, corrupt officials and people with low professional and moral qualities has been carried out. Over the past two years, this figure might be heard for the first time, more than two thousand officials of the Security Service have been dismissed. They have been substituted by young patriotic officers. Absolute majority of them have practical experience in hostilities in eastern Ukraine. We have finally started to create the Ukrainian police from the former Soviet militia.
“Please, do not make a racket about political repressions. We should better realize new realities: true hunt for corrupt officials has been started; any sinner has a chance to get into this snare,” the President emphasized.
The Head of State drew special attention to the importance of implementing preventive measures. “The most striking example is the e-procurement system with a really symbolic name “ProZorro”. It has already saved billions of public money,” he said. This system will strengthen society’s capability to control assets, incomes, expenditures, and lifestyles of government officials. According to the President, problems with the start of e-declaration system were of pure technical nature.
The President also believes that it is necessary to minimize contact between government officials and businessmen, inter alia, through deregulation. “Over the past two years, we have reduced the number of permits by more than 40% - from one hundred forty-three to eighty-four,” the President stressed. We have reduced the number of business activities subject to licensing by 46%. We have eliminated compulsory registration of foreign investments and simplified registration of medicines, massive deregulation has been carried out in agriculture.
Up to half of the total regulation in Ukraine is written out at the level of laws, as stated by the President. Currently 39 deregulatory bills have been registered, of which only 8 have been adopted in first reading. “If somebody thinks that deregulation does not apply to him, he is mistaken. Business difficulties affect every Ukrainian, because the final consumer pays for everything,” the Head of State noted.
The President is confident that society doesn’t see any progress in that direction, because people do not believe that struggle against corrupt officials is a systemic work, not a PR campaign. “Second, as people say, it resembles sport fishing: “caught, showed, released”. The key word here is “imprisoned”. Probably, our law enforcement agencies can report to the public only having court sentences,” Petro Poroshenko said.
Thus, according to the President, judicial reform must complete the entire system of struggle against corruption. Its implementation may take several years but this meticulous work must result into a new judicial system – fair, independent and just.
“We will of course continue our course towards decentralization, expansion of powers and financial capacities of local authorities, and the draft budget 2017 will prove this. By the way, the government expects Verkhovna Rada to adopt at least ten laws that will strengthen decentralization,” the President noted.
“I am confident, that historically and strategically we are on a right way. But I do see risk when political destabilization might crush first shoots of social-economic revival suffered by the whole nation, which were paid with such a high price. Exactly on the internal shake bets the external enemy. Most of our problems have appeared not yesterday or the day before yesterday. They are the consequence of many illusions and mistakes that accompanied the whole period of independence,” the Head of State said.
“There are still a lot of difficulties ahead, but trials and victories, gained by enormous efforts and blood of the best sons and daughters of our nation in all times, does not give us another choice but only victory, only frontward! I am confident that everything will be alright,” the President concluded.
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