ASSESSING UKRAINE'S ANTI-CORRUPTION PROGRESS
In late May, the BBC put out a progress update on corruption reforms in Ukraine, including insights from prominent Ukrainian individuals involved in the fight. The results were some notable insights into how Ukrainian society is changing as a result of what are, at long last, serious measures to expand transparency and eliminate endemic graft.
One notable change is to Ukraine's previously pervasive culture of unaccountability. Andriy Borovyk, the executive director of Transparency International Ukraine, stressed that the recent arrests of prominent figures such as former Supreme Court Head Vsevolod Knyazev, SBU intelligence officer Artem Shylo, and agriculture minister Mykola Solsky have had a real impact on perceptions of impunity among the country's political elite. These arrests have made public officials "think twice before doing something corrupt," Borovyk says. According to him, the next corruption-fighting goal for Ukraine is to fix the tax and customs services, and to strengthen financial oversight.
Another shift is in the competence of anti-corruption measures and agencies. According to Andriy Synyuk, deputy head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecution Service, fewer reports of corrupted officials getting caught is not so much a sign of a problem, but rather a reflection of better infrastructure more able to catch wrongdoers. Synyuk also says that today there are no corners of government immune to the work of agencies such as his. Other experts concur. Dmytro Kalmykov, the head of the anti-corruption policy department at the National Agency for Preventing Corruption, believes that corruption no longer meaningfully takes place in sectors and practices historically most afflicted by it, such as the issuance of passports. He does, however, indicate that more work needs to be done to police public projects involving Ukraine's natural resources, infrastructure and monopolies. Another area that needs attention, according to Kalmykov, is the removal of corrupt figures from the national judiciary - something that, when accomplished, "will make the general system of public administration healthier."
Public pressure and media scrutiny, meanwhile, have contributed to the robustness and pace of the reforms that have been implemented so far. "Regardless of whether or not the government wants to fight corruption and regardless of who is in the government, public pressure and the effectiveness of civil society and media means than no government can ignore corruption," says Vitaly Shabunin, board chairman of the Anti-Corruption Action Centre.
Underpinning these shifts is a recognition of the high stakes involved. According to Yuri Nikolov, a prominent Ukrainian anti-corruption journalist, the potential negative effects of failing to seriously address corruption could be catastrophic for Ukraine against the backdrop of the war with Russia, potentially leading to a dramatic drop in Western assistance – and to Russia's ultimate victory. Should that happen, Nikolov notes grimly, “they’ll shoot us all.” (BBC, May 21, 2024)
SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE OF COMMERCE
As Ukraine looks to become more competitive in Western markets and deepen its interactions with the U.S. and Europe, it is focusing on an often-overlooked but important subject: language. The country's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, recently passed a law requiring employees to demonstrate proficiency in English for certain government posts. The requirement will apply to some civil service positions, including military officers, mid- to high-level police officers, first responders, and several other roles – including tax collectors and customs officers.
But the push to popularize English appears to be even broader. In order to promote the English language nationwide, Ukraine will reportedly start requiring that the language be taught in schools beginning in kindergarten. In addition, the government is set to provide support for English language films by offering financial support for theaters that screen at least eight English-language films per month, with certain stipulations. (Kyiv Post, June 5, 2024)
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