Customs revenue surges at Zakarpattia customs office targeted by Zelensky

Revenue earned by the Zakarpattia customs office of the
State Fiscal Service surged 77% m/m in July to UAH 740 mln following a visit by
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he warned customs agents
that he would lead a fight against corruption and prosecution of all criminal
suspects. The figure was 74% higher than July 2018, the President’s Office
reported on Aug. 8 on its Facebook page. The results were achieved with the
cooperation of the local customs officials, local law enforcement and a newly
appointed regional state administration head, the office said, also sighting
Zelensky’s “blunt talks” with local customs officials during his early July
visit.

Zelensky signed a decree on Aug. 6 dismissing the
first deputy head of the State Border Service, Yuriy Hresko, and the deputy
head, Artur Pimenov. The same day, the newly appointed head of the State Border
Service, Serhiy Deyneko, said the fight against corruption in his body will
involve polygraph tests and the dismissal of personnel of entire departments.

Zenon Zawada: So far, so good. But in order for the impressive results from
Zakarpattia to be repeated, the president will need the help of all the heads
of state bodies, like Deyneko at the border service, to maintain pressure on
their employees to avoid corruption and perform their work honestly. There is
only so much that one man (or one president) can do to reform an entire
bureaucracy that has a global reputation for corruption.