Ukraine invites foreign professionals to run state agencies
On December 2nd, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada voted for the new cabinet of ministers, three of whom are foreign citizens. Experts said foreign professionals in the new government will bring positive changes, successfully fight corruption and run reforms that are crucial for the country.
United States-born Natalia Jaresko was appointed as the new finance minister, Lithuanian Aivaras Abromavicius is the new economy minister, and Alexander Kvitashvili, Georgia’s former health minister, who successfully oversaw healthcare reform in his country, became the new health minister.
“What society in Ukraine will greet is the presence of foreign specialists heading three ministries,” Volodymyr Fesenko, director of the Kyiv-based Penta Centre of Applied Political Studies, told SETimes. “These are people with reputations. Some of them have long been working in Ukraine. It has never happened before in Ukraine when one minister is from Georgia and another from Lithuania.”
“Elites have complete understanding of the situation, there are serious challenges the country faces,” Oleksandr Kliuzhev, an activist from the civil network Opora, told SETimes. “There could be no surprises on formation of a new government because further delay would cause a negative reaction in the society.”
Before the adoption of the new government, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree to give Ukrainian citizenship to the three foreign specialists, emphasising that they will occupy the highest positions in vital ministries.
The idea to invite foreigners to work in Ukraine’s government belongs to Poroshenko.
“My idea is to make changes in the laws to give foreigners the opportunity to get involved in public service, including positions within the government, or expand the circle of people who can get Ukrainian citizenship from the president in an accelerated fashion,” Poroshenko said at the first session of the newly elected parliament on November 27th.
Experts say that this step will facilitate greater transparency in public administration. In addition, foreigners will be less hesitant than locals to undertake reforms.
“We have the specifics that power looks like a deck of cards, which are constantly shuffled,” Olexiy Holobutskiy, deputy director of the political research organisation Situations Modeling Agency, told SETimes. “You can occupy different positions, but between you and your friends are 15 years in politics together. It is very difficult to be objective toward them. This is the most difficult thing that prevents our leaders to work properly.”
Political analysts said it is good to have foreigners in the cabinet because they don’t have any business relations or interests in Ukraine.
“It was discovered that there is a shortage of Ukrainian professionals who are ready and willing to make reforms,” Fesenko said. “A lot of politicians do not want to take responsibility and risk their ratings. Foreigners don’t have such feelings. Moreover they don’t have business relations in Ukraine. The health minister is Georgian and there always is a struggle of different business groups in this sphere. In this sense, it is necessary to have a minister who will not be associated with certain business interests. The same can be said about Natalia Jaresko, who is a very experienced specialist in the field of economy.”
Authorities selected 24 ministers out of 185 candidates. International recruitment agencies Pedersen Partners and Korn Ferry participated in the recruiting process, which was financed by the international fund Vozrojdenie (Revival), founded by George Soros. About $82,000 was spent on the recruiting process.
Olexandr Sushko, head of the Vozrojdenie Foundation Board and director of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic co-operation, said the recruitment agencies were looking for candidates who met specific criteria.
“Reputation, absence of communication with oligarchic structures, good experience in managing large institutions, the experience of successful reforms and personal motivation. The desire to engage in reforms in Ukraine,” Sushko told SETimes.
Sushko said the recruitment of foreign professionals is a common practice across the world.
“Do you remember Lee Kuan Yew, the famous Singaporean leader? A British passport has not prevented him from transforming Singapore into a state with one of the strongest economies [in the world],” he said.
Dmytro Shymkiv, the deputy head of the presidential administration, is one of the main proponents of the concept. A former CEO of Microsoft Ukraine, Shymkiv said the country needs “non-standard solutions in the public administration” due to difficult economic circumstances and the conflict with Russia.
“Ukraine needs the Western practice of public administration, the fight against corruption, financial planning, crisis management,” Shymkiv said in a statement for the President’s Administration.
Holobutskiy said that for people who have made a career in the West “reputation is not an empty phrase.”
“Maybe we will finally get some responsible officials who know what business standing means,” he said.
Oleksiy Haran, a professor of political science at the University Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, said it was important that Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk reached agreements when forming a coalition and selecting candidates for the cabinet of ministers.
“The principle agreement was only between the president and the prime minister,” Haran said. “Despite all the controversy, they objectively had to agree because they all stood on the Maidan. These politicians understand that they must act together.”
“It is very positive that the president and the prime minister reached an agreement on many fundamental questions. It shows that politicians won’t repeat the experience of 2005,” Fesenko said, referring to the Orange Revolution protests that lasted two months following the disputed results of a presidential election.
As the branches of power in Ukraine are formed, it is important to create efficient co-operation to speed up implementation of reforms, experts said.
“One thing is to meet an agreement on positions and candidates in the government, but another thing is to ensure unity of the government and the coalition,” Kliuzhev said.
Haran added that it will be easier for the pro-European government to implement reforms and special programmes as a pro-European constitutional majority is formed in Ukraine’s parliament.
“We have to distinguish between a working majority and a constitutional majority,” Haran told SETimes. “The presence of a strong majority is fundamental to pass laws and implement reforms in life. If any questions will arise about the changes to the constitution then constitutional majority will be required. For some reforms a constitutional majority in the parliament is also needed. Such a format of coalition suggests a strong reserve. The government will be able to work normally with a consent of major political forces in the Verkhovna Rada.”
How do you think Ukraine will benefit from the experiences of foreign professionals working in the new government? Tell us what you think in the comments.