Michael Willard writes: Participate in the “Yes, You Can Fight Corruption’” contest.
The ho-hum topic in Ukraine is corruption. Just as the grass is green in the summer and skies are blue when clear, whatever will be, will be. There is nothing you or I can do about it. I hate that attitude. There are baby steps we can take if we have the will and tenacity to do so.
After nearly two decades in Ukraine, very little shocks me. Years ago, I saw a thug gunned down outside Dom Kino. Late last month, I was hassled by police intent on shaking me down as I walked home from a party.
When a Kyiv Post editorial employee charged with getting bids on a project recently visited nine companies offering the service, six of them offered her kickbacks. She took them off the list, and reported back to me.
I regularly drive to Zholty Vody, about six hours distance from Kyiv, to visit in-laws. I am invariably stopped by police in search of bribes. Whether I am in the wrong or not (and I usually am), I request a ticket. Frustrated, they generally send me on my way. Only once was I actually given a citation.
Most Ukrainian newspapers accept stories for payment and without verification as news. This even extends to stories having to do with powerful pharmaceutical drugs. The publications seem to think there is nothing wrong with this. It is a form of corruption.
Every couple of months, the government – and it makes no difference which government is in power — announces a crackdown on corruption. Lately, however, we have seen that corruption is defined by whichever faction happens to be in power.
In Ukraine, corruption is a form of trickle-down thievery. There is corruption at the top, in the middle and at the lower end. Transparency International dropped Ukraine 18 places this year, to a 152nd-place rating we share with Tajikistan.
We are no longer shocked by the extent of corruption in Ukraine – if we ever were – and many of us accept it as inevitable.
In other words, one of the most corrupt countries in the world has become even more so on the eve of Euro 2012, the European football championships, a time when Ukraine would like to put its best foot forward. Miles of new highway and new stadiums are not a good tradeoff.
In the case of the Kyiv Post’s search for a reputable vendor, who would have thought there would be six people out there idiotic enough to bribe a veteran reporter of this newspaper?
Corrupt people and institutions think everyone else is corrupt, which, they reason, makes it okay. This is sad because, in a way, we become part of the problem. We serve as enablers in many cases.
We are no longer shocked by the extent of corruption in Ukraine – if we ever were – and many of us accept it as inevitable.
Most companies with which I am familiar – including large Western multinationals – are certain that every other company is corrupt, but that their own employees would never accept kickbacks. They believe that because they have procurement policies, they have covered every base. They haven’t.
In the area of paid press, many managing directors haven’t the foggiest idea that their marketing or public relations director is purchasing stories – dressing up fluffy promotion as real news in exchange for money. In other cases, he or she just simply looks the other way after being convinced that this is the common practice in Ukraine.
Here are four suggestions on how we can all do our part to nudge the corruption index down a notch.
Monitor your vendors. Be a little sly: Send a trusted employee (in essence, under cover) to see if a particular vendor offers a kickback. If it occurs, go to that company’s management and suggest that the person be removed – immediately – as an example to others, then put the vender on probation.
Take a stand: Refuse to pay bribes to the police. If it is a possible traffic violation, accept responsibility and demand a ticket. They might keep you by the road for 20 minutes or so, but eventually they will give up. Do it even though paying the bribe is convenient and usually less expensive than the ticket.
If you are a managing director, issue a general policy that anyone who pays for a news story will be summarily fired. You will feel good about yourself afterward. You will have contributed mightily to the development of a free press in Ukraine.
No one likes to spy on his own employees, however bring in a forensic accountant to follow the money and employee lifestyle trends. Let employees know there is an additional layer of security to halt corrupt practices.
These ideas are just a beginning. I would welcome yours as well, to be published in the future. My email address is at the end of this column. When it comes down to it, the first steps toward fighting corruption should be taken in our own backyard.
Kyiv Post CEO Michael Willard can be reached at [email protected]
