Ukraine keeps on fighting corruption
Ukraine, even amidst being attacked on the world stage, continues to fight against corruption. They have been bombed and are fighting for their survival but the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko has dismissed the deputy head of the Kyiv City Administration and several other city officials .
This has been part of an ongoing corruption investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). “The suspects reportedly found suitable land plots and registered ownership of buildings that never existed there in the name of controlled entities, according to the investigation. Subsequently, the applications for ownership for the maintenance of these structures were submitted to the city council, which allegedly helped them avoid a fair tender.”
It is amazing that during a war, where the city is being barraged, these senior officials feel that they should shake down the government and their citizens, instead of taking care of the people they are there to serve.
And, thankfully, NABU and SAPO continue to lead Ukraine’s fight against corruption, but they need more. These types of cases are highlighted by the media, and it is exciting to see such good work, but, unfortunately, only 10% of such cases end up with the guilty being jailed.
Why is this? Even with an anti-corruption court, which this writer was a part of helping create, the judiciary at all levels is still corrupt. There have been very large amounts of money, paid by many donors, to support the judiciary, and year after year there is almost no change.
What should we do? A radical change is needed and hopefully this will be the time to do this. In other countries, they have dismissed the majority of judges, and the systems to hire new ones who will go through a truly vigorous vetting process and will be regularly held accountable. This can be done and Ukraine should do it now, to show the world that Ukraine is a place to come and invest monies, which will be one of the best ways to make Ukraine amazing.
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