Large-scale anti-corruption dismissals announced at state bodies

More than 500
customs agents will be dismissed as part of the current campaign to reset the
State Customs Service as a new structure, agency head Max Nefyodov said in an
interview with Ukrainian radio broadcast on Dec. 1. Corruption will merely
continue in customs without a quality renewal of personnel, Nefyodov said. “Of
course, it will help to coordinate and centralize certain processes. But what’s
not less important is that this is both a technical and tactical decision to
renew the leadership. I absolutely do not trust people who created this system
for 20 years that obviously doesn’t satisfy neither us, as taxpayers, nor
politicians,” he said. Nefyodov added, “Without the dismissal of at least 500
old personnel who stained themselves is a mere imitation of reforms, to be
honest. I certainly won’t imitate reforms.”

About 15
high-ranking officials have been dismissed from the Economic Development, Trade
and Agriculture Ministry, minister Tymofiy Mylovanov reported on his Facebook
page on Nov. 25. “The resetting of government,” he wrote, estimating the
dismissals eliminating 50% of the ministry’s leading officials. A week earlier,
Mylovanov announced the dismissal of 47 state enterprise directors and Category
A state officials. “We have clear criteria: financial results, fulfilling KPIs
and tasks, reputation, and teamwork,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

Zenon Zawada: These
are impressive efforts as mass dismissals are certainly necessary for true
reforms. The majority of Ukrainians will support such dismissals. It’s already
rumored that those dismissed will be forming a new political party under a
slogan bearing the message, “Experience matters when serving in government.”
However, such campaigns won’t have much support from the general public, which
is fed up by corruption.