You're reading: Interior Ministry reform foresees growth in wages, dismissal of some employees – Zguladze

Newly appointed First Deputy Interior Minister Eka Zguladze has promised to increase employee wages in departments that are to be reformed, and hopes that more women will work in the Ukrainian police.

At a press conference in Kyiv on Dec. 25 Zguladze spoke about her vision of reform of the system of interior agencies in Ukraine. She said that the planned reforms would achieve a positive result.

“We will succeed, but not immediately and not in everything… Reform will be made in several ways,” she said.

Zguladze also stressed the need to change for the better relations between the police and the public, as the level of public confidence in the Ukrainian police is now “almost zero.”

“A public safety unit will be the initial priority. This concerns not only traffic police, but also the patrol service,” she said.

She said that the reform would begin in big cities, especially in Kyiv, but will not be a pilot project, and the reform would gradually be conducted throughout Ukraine.

“I’m not here as a continuation of the Georgian government. We will introduce Ukrainian reform,” Zguladze said.

However, she drew attention to the fact that in any case, during the reform process, some police officers would be dismissed.

“We will lose some of our employees, but will find the new ones,” she said.

Zguladze added that she could also promise an increase in wages to law enforcement agencies.

“We will significantly increase wages. We can already guarantee an increase in wages,” she said, noting that, first and foremost, this will concern employees of units to be reformed.

She said that a detailed plan for traffic police reform would be presented in mid-January. In particular, in the context of a merger of traffic police and patrol service, the administrative service system will also change, she said.

“The goal is to minimize the level of corruption through technology and regulatory framework,” she said.

In addition, Zguladze added that Ukrainian interior agencies would need donor support during the reform process.

As for the fight against corruption, she stressed the need to move in two directions – punitive measures, as well as the minimization of lawsuits, to build a protected system.

In addition, when asked whether more women will work in the newly formed Ukrainian police, Zguladze said: “I, as a woman and as one of the leaders, will say that I hope for this, because in many countries women police officers showed themselves [as being] very good. And I think that Ukraine will be no exception. And if I can call on women to participate more actively in recruitment, then I will use this opportunity.”