Reformer of the week: Ulana Suprun
American-born Health Minister Ulana Suprun has been involved in a conflict with Borys Todurov, head of Kyiv’s Heart Institute, in recent weeks.
Todurov has accused Suprun of failing to carry out drug supplies on time, which she denies. He has also criticized a measure pushed by Suprun to put international organizations in charge of drug procurement in Ukraine, which reduced corruption in pharmaceutical purchases.
Suprun’s supporters argue that Todurov’s attacks are an effort by corrupt vested interests in medicine to keep their graft schemes. Yanukovych’s son Oleksandr and his Health Minister Raisa Bogatyryova have been accused of taking part in these schemes, which they deny.
Among others, Todurov has been backed by Vadym Rabinovich and Oleksandr Vilkul from the Opposition Bloc, an offshoot of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, and pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
Suprun said on Jan. 27 that the police were investigating drug purchases by her ministry through the United Nations Development Program as part of pressure on the reformers.
She has been pushing for a healthcare reform that will eliminate any interference by crooked state intermediaries by requiring doctors to enter into a contract with their patients.
In December Suprun and Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan also dismissed ongoing competitions for state secretary jobs as rigged procedures used by corrupt interests to impose their representatives on government ministries.
Suprun’s struggle appears to be part of a broader conflict between reformers and the corrupt bureaucracy. At least 24 top reformers have been forced out of government since the beginning of 2016.
Anti-reformer of the week: Ihor Benedesyuk
The High Council of Justice, headed by Ihor Benedesyuk, on Jan. 17 said that an arrest warrant for a judge caught committing a crime can only be issued if approved by the council.
Civil society groups, including Chesno, the Reanimation Package of Reforms and AutoMaidan, argue that the statement contradicts the Constitution. The interpretation of the council, which denies contradicting the Constitution, will lead to corrupt judges fleeing since courts will have to release them when the 3-day detention deadline expires, the activists say.
The council has to decide on approving an arrest warrant for a judge within five days.
As a result of the council’s interpretation, a judge of Kyiv’s Solomyansky Court charged with taking a $22,000 bribe was released on Jan. 29 due to a lack of the council’s authorization for his arrest. The High Council of Justice argues, however, that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has failed to ask for its approval.
The High Council of Justice has also refused to initiate the suspension of Pavlo Grechkivsky, a council member charged with fraud.
The council argues that prosecutors have not given it any evidence for the alleged crime of Grechkivsky, reportedly an ally of President Petro Poroshenko’s top allies Ihor Kononenko and Oleksandr Hranovsky. It also says it will not have a quorum if Grechkivsky is suspended.
The council has also been dragging its feet on firing about 300 judges accused of passing unlawful rulings against EuroMaidan protesters and has given a blanket amnesty to judges who banned EuroMaidan rallies. Only 29 of the about 300 judges have been dismissed as time is running out before deadlines expiring in January and February.
The High Council of Justice has cited legal hurdles, such as a lack of necessary legislation until recently, as a reason for the delays.
Civic activists argue that Benedesyuk’s council is effectively controlled by Poroshenko and is incapable of cleansing the judiciary and preserving its independence – a claim denied by Benedesyuk.
