You're reading: Many skeptical as Yanukovych vows to fight corruption

Ukraine’s taxpayers are losing billions of dollars annually due to corruption, while the real fight against these crimes is barely on the horizon.

At a June 8 meeting of the National Anti-Corruption Committee, President Viktor Yanukovych said that corruption robs the state budget of Hr 20 billion, or some $2.5 billion, in revenues every year.

On top of that, Yanukovych said, shady purchases by government rob the state of even more billions of dollars.

“Through corrupt dealings in the sphere of public procurement, from 10 to 15 percent of the state budget, ends up in the pockets of officials. That is – $7.4 billion,” Yanukovych said. “That’s why in the last 15 months we have worked hard on the eradication of corruption.”

The president mentioned the new anti-corruption law that he recently signed as an example of the measures taken by authorities to fight corruption.

Through corrupt dealings in the sphere of public procurement, from 10 to 15 percent of the state budget, ends up in the pockets of officials. That is – $7.4 billion. That’s why in the last 15 months we have worked hard on the eradication of corruption.

– Viktor Yanukovych

The law obliges public officials to declare their incomes and those of relatives, but not expenses.

While omnipresent corruption is undermining the nation’s investment climate and makes it impossible for the country win a visa-free regime with the European Union, many are skeptical that those in power are committed to its eradication.

Despite the adoption of new legislation, international organizations and the Ukrainian opposition share the opinion that the current Ukrainian government is part of the problem.

“Adopting the anti-corruption law alone will probably not be sufficient to have positive results,” said Nataliya Borodchuk, an analyst at the Kyiv-based International Center for Policy Studies.

Borodchuk would not classify the Yankovych administration’s fight against corruption as effective. “The steps taken by the authorities to eradicate corruption are not very flattering,” she said.

The president himself became a target of corruption allegations for the controversial way the state residence Mezhyhirya, a posh 140-hectare estate north of Kyiv, was transferred from public ownership to people in Yanukovych’s inner circle.

Yanukovych denies the charges and says he owns only a small piece of land and a house there.

Earlier this year, the European Union criticized Ukraine for the failure to adopt a public procurement law which is not in line with the international standards of transparency and competitive state purchases.

Despite the adoption of new legislation, international organizations and the Ukrainian opposition share the opinion that the current Ukrainian government is part of the problem.

As a result of this failure to curb corruption in state procurements, the EU froze plans in February to give more than $100 million in financial assistance to Ukraine.

Experts from the anti-corruption organization Transparency International also expressed concerns regarding the public procurement law. In the Transparency International corruption perception index in 2010, Ukraine ranked 134th of 180 countries.

GRECO, a group of states against corruption, reported at the end of May that Ukraine has not taken sufficient measures to combat corruption.

Yanukovych said Ukraine is happy about its cooperation with GRECO and intends to heed its recommendations in the future.

Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyskhiv can be reached at [email protected]