Ukraine’s graft becomes election debate
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Thursday, September 25, 2014 – Kyiv—Golden loaves became a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against graft after bread-shaped gold bars were discovered at Viktor Yanukovych’s lavish estate outside Kyiv, one of the many symbols of the greed and tasteless excess of his regime.
Seven months on, the new leaders who took office after the toppling of the Kremlin-backed president have done woefully little to tackle corruption, diverted they say by the deadly conflict in the east.
In a country where the average monthly salary is barely $250 (200 euros), Ukrainians were stunned at the grotesque opulence at the residence of the disgraced former president, accused of syphoning off billions of dollars from the public purse.
But commentators say graft still permeates all walks of life, from traffic police to customs officials to top judges, and almost no form of business is possible without bribes or kickback
Majority deputies scuffle with deputies from the Regions Party of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, during a debate in the parliament in Kyiv on July 22, 2014
“The prevailing opinion in Ukraine is that corruption is good,” former economy minister Pavlo Sheremeta acknowledged this month. “A man of integrity is an exception.”
Sheremeta resigned in frustration at the slow pace of reform, failing to push through plans to slash red tape and eradicate the Soviet-era mismanagement and corrupt practices that have sent Ukraine to the brink of bankruptcy.
The justice minister said this month that the Yanukovych regime had stolen $11 billion through the abuse of government tenders alone in the last four years.
Transparency International still ranks Ukraine at a lowly 144 out of 177 countries on its corruption perceptions index, on a par with Nigeria and Papua New Guinea.
And international lenders behind a massive $27 billion lifeline to head off total economic collapse say stamping out corruption is a must if Kyiv wants to keep the aid flowing.
A demonstrator holds a flag with the portrait of deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych during a rally by pro-Russia supporters outside the regional government administration building in the eastern city of Donetsk on April 5, 2014
Erik F. Nielsen, global chief economist at UniCredit, lumped Ukraine with other emerging economies such as Argentina and Russia which he said had “made little to no progress in terms of policy reforms”.
Last week, it took at least three votes in parliament to adopt just one part of a government anti-corruption initiative — to the anger of demonstrators who set tyres ablaze outside and unceremoniously dumped a former Yanukovych advisor in a rubbish bin.
Under the so-called lustration law, up to one million public servants — including cabinet ministers — will be vetted and anyone unable to explain their sources of income and assets will be banned from public office for five to 10 years.
The legislation also aims to purge officials from Yanukovych’s administration, particularly those accused of involvement in the bloody crackdown on protesters in Kyiv last winter, as well as anyone linked to the separatists and the Russian regime.—AFP
