Parliament approves resignation of minister alleging corruption

Ukraine’s parliament voted on Feb. 4 to accept the
resignation request of Alyona Babak, the minister for community and regional
development, dismissing her with 266 votes (out of 226 needed). It was
supported by 221 MPs of the pro-presidential People’s Servant party, while
other faction heads said they withdrew their support because her resignation
seemed to have been under duress. She submitted her resignation letter on Jan.
16, which was attributed to her “not handling it, not delegating authority” by
an anonymous cabinet source, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news site.

In her final remarks to parliament, Babak said
corruption remains thriving in Ukraine’s construction industry. Corrupt clans
are trying to dismiss honest state building officials and threatening them, she
said. At the same time, she said the current government, including the
President’s Office, has launched irreversible reforms to fight this corruption.
“That I’m leaving this position doesn’t mean the president has stopped the
fight against you,” she said from the tribune. “A whole system has been
launched. Be afraid! You won’t have any place in the construction sphere.”

To replace Babak, parliament appointed Denys Shmyhal,
the former head of the Ivano-Frankivsk regional administration, who was also
designated as deputy prime minister. He previously served as deputy director of
the Revenue and Fees Ministry in the Lviv region.

Zenon Zawada: The main
conclusion we draw from this episode is the cabinet is willing to make
personnel changes based on qualifications. That’s a positive sign considering
the tradition in Ukrainian politics has been appointing and retaining officials
based on their loyalty and ability to deliver kickbacks, with qualifications
being an afterthought.

Having previously admitted that she is more of a
policy expert than a politician, Babak likely felt overwhelmed and out of her
environment. She indicated she made formidable enemies very early by blocking
Kyiv construction projects that were determined to be in violation of norms and
regulations. As for her promises to root out corruption, it’s worth considering
that construction is typically a corrupt sphere in even developed economies. At
the same time, there is certainly room for progress in Ukraine.