Ways to Solve Corruption in Ukraine - Research Paper Example

? Corruption in Ukraine and the Possible Ways to Solve It Introduction Corruption has become a potential threat to the sustainable economic growth of Ukraine, because the problems associated with fraud in government departments have been hindering the proper circulation of money and other key resources. As Parusinski reports, according to Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2012, Ukraine was rated 144th out of a total of 176 countries investigated whereas the country had obtained 118th rank 5 years back (“Ukraine inches up on international corruption index”). As per this report, Ukraine shared this poor corruption status with other third world countries like Bangladesh, Central African Republic, and Syria. In the same year, Ernst & Young identified Ukraine as one of the three most corrupted countries in the world along with Brazil and Columbia. Referring to Wikileaks cables, US diplomats described Ukraine as a state of kleptocracy under the presidency of Kuchma and Yushchenko. This paper will identify the intensity of corruption prevailing in Ukrainian government and suggest some potential remedies to fight the issue. Depth of Corruption in Ukrainian Government Bribes are very common in Ukraine because Ukrainians think that such unfair rewards are customary and expected in every official matters. Referring to recent investigative reports, some of the huge bribes in the country involve more than USD 1 billion. According to a sociological survey conducted by Management Systems International (MSI) in 2008, the level of corruption was very high; in vehicle inspection (57.5%), the police (54.2%), health care (54%), the courts (49%), and higher education (43.6%) (UNO, “Country reports”). The police and the courts which are in charge of law enforcement in the country are highly corrupted. Undoubtedly, the higher corruption level in the courts and the police become a great obstacle to abolishing this social as well as economic issue. As compared to well developed economies like US and UK, many of the Ukrainians are willing to pay some or other forms of bribes so as to get served fast. Recently in 2011, the Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych admitted that bribes cause the state budget to lose billions of dollars in revenues and a notable percent of public funds “end up in the pockets of officials” (as qtd in Rachkevych). The president’s words clearly reflect the profundity of corruption in Ukraine. In spite of great media coverage and hot discussions, corruption is still growing to be a major growth impediment to the Ukrainian economy. As different surveys point out, nearly 70% of Ukrainians who had dealt with government services over the last five years directly involved in corrupt practices. Experts suggest that this rate would further increase if some respondents were not afraid of consequences. Referring to a report by Danilova, political corruption through the use of administrative tools is a key issue challenging the development of the country (“Hundreds protest..”). Ukrainian politicians mainly use administrative tools to commit election fraud and thereby make election results in their favor. The situation where many of the top Ukrainian governmental officials have been liable for prosecution also indicates how intense the problem of corruption is in the country’s government system. In fact, medical care is free for Ukrainians in state-run hospitals. However they pay money there to make sure that they receive quality treatment whenever required. Recently some advocacy groups have accused the Ukrainian Health Ministry officials for misappropriating the money that should have used to treat AIDS patients. They claim that officials bought AIDS drugs at highly inflated prices and received kickbacks in return. As Nitsevych points out, business firms in Ukraine widely engage in corruptive practices in order to take advantages of business licensing, taxation, and customs (“Potential for German investors..”). As a result, the government loses millions of dollars in taxes and duties and this situation adversely affects the foundation of the economy as a whole. Today a significant percent of the country’s business transactions are unknown to the Ukraine government and therefore the government does not have a complete control over its business sector. It is claimed that non-Ukrainian companies often fail to win contracts if they are not willing to pay bribes. The issue of bribery is very common in the field of higher education too. According to survey reports, over 50% students have encountered corruption during their academic life and many of them supported corruptive practices not to lose their higher education opportunities. A 2008 Transparency International research report reflects that 47.3% university students in Ukraine were demanded to pay bribe and 29% of them had paid it without any objection (UNO, “Europe and Central Asia”). Osipian states that the higher education sector in Ukraine is highly exposed to corruption so that students are free to ‘buy’ college entries, exam results, and doctoral or other reputed degrees (“Higher education corruption”). As experts point out, a notable percent of university students in Ukraine does not like to spend much time in their academic studies because they can earn whatever qualification they want with money. Since students are also in favor of bribery in the higher education system, it is a very difficult task for officials concerned to eradicate this fraud. Corruption in the social security system greatly troubles the Ukrainian government and this situation definitely hurts public interests. According to a statement by the president Viktor Yanukovych, ‘nearly only 23% of social welfare funds go to proper hands’ (qtd in Tkachuk). Ukrainian media are continuously reporting stories featuring fraudulent activities committed by even parliamentarians. To illustrate, many persons claim to be war and Chernobyl veterans so as to receive undeserved social benefits. Undoubtedly, it is not possible for people to commit such fraudulent activities unless they obtain strong support from government departments. Here government officials do these unfair favors to receive their shares in bribe. The problem of corruption is widespread in Ukrainian local politics too. Referring to media reports, several Ukrainian mayors are accused of taking unfair advantages of their posts so as to serve their personal interests. “The former Cherkasy mayor Serhiy Odarych has been suspected to cause a loss of hryvnia 600,000 to the city budget” (as qtd in EUpse). It is awful to see that President, Prime Minister, Prosecutor General, ministers and other top personnel in the government departments have been facing prosecution for corruption since 2011. Ukrainian media constantly report that many of the country’s government officials and politicians lead a millionaire lifestyle, which is clearly contradictory to their stated official incomes. However the government is poor in responding to those serious issues because corruption is supported by persons at the help of affairs. To worsen the situation, the issue of juridical corruption causes great troubles for the country. Although judicial independence exists in the country theoretically, actually there is no separation of juridical and political powers and hence court decisions are often influenced by political parties. Western diplomats and media all over the world consider Ukraine’s court system as corrupt. As Byrne cites, According to a Ukrainian Justice Ministry survey conducted in 2009, only 10 percent of the participants expressed a trust in the country’s court system whereas less than 30 percent of the respondents held the belief that it is still possible to get an impartial trial (“Jackpot”). The unfair partnership between the judicial system and other governmental bodies makes it difficult for the establishment of a fair governance system. In short, corruption is common in all sectors of the Ukrainian government and the situation is extremely worsened by the iniquitous joining of political and juridical powers. Major Causes of Corruption While analyzing the state of corruption in Ukrainian government departments, it is clear that causes of corruption can be varied. Corruption in the Ukrainian higher education sector can be attributed to low remuneration. It seems that teachers and professors receive low salaries as compared to other professions and this frustration might have persuaded them to support practices that are against their professional ethics. In addition, students are happy to ‘buy’ an academic degree or a college admission rather than attaining it through extreme efforts. As a result, most of the students will not report the case to higher authorities even if they are demanded to pay huge bribes. As Leipnik and Kyrychenko point out, business houses in Ukraine engage in unethical practices to evade taxes, duties, and other forms of tariffs (“The public utilities”). Hence, even fair business organizations are forced to follow those malpractices in order to confront with their competitors. A strong support from government officials helps these businesses to continue tax evasion and other unethical trade practices. While observing the current judicial system of Ukraine, it seems that political giants and bureaucrats have great influence on the appointment of judges. Therefore, they nominate judges who would stand for them but not for justice. The emergence of a personal interest-oriented rather than national interest-oriented political spectrum is the prime cause of growing corruption rate in Ukrainian government. They want to strengthen their own financial background, and for that they influence government officials in different ways. According to Bissessar, an unfavorable change in the value system and ethical qualities of leaders has notably contributed to increased corruption (65-66). Today the old notions of morality, service, and honesty are not well emphasized because they are thought to be less important in the highly competitive modern world. Increased tolerance of people or an irresponsive society is another element fuelling the growth of corruption in the country. In the busy modern world, people are more selfish and they do not want to be concerned about the wellbeing of the entire society. This situation really encourages the corrupt officials to repeat unethical practices like bribery and misappropriation of public funds. In addition, common people do not have a strong public platform to react to corruption and it limits public outcry against corruption. It is common that politicians receive funds from industrialists and corporate giants at the time of election to meet huge election costs. As a result, politicians are compelled to serve the needs of those fund donors through unfair use of administrative tools. Finally, outdated and complex laws increase the level of corruption. In a democratic country like Ukraine, public must have more powers to determine the way they are governed. How the Problem Affects the Economy? Evidently the issue of corruption drastically affects the growth of an economy in numerous ways. As noted already, the Ukrainian government loses billions of dollars in taxes and other revenues due to corruption in the business sector. As a result, there would be an accumulation of black money, which is a severe threat to the development of an economy. Furthermore, tax evasion and other business malpractices would lead to unequal distribution of wealth and this problem in turn would broaden the gap between the poor and the rich. Similarly, corruption in the health sector can adversely affect the overall health status of the society. It is obvious that every class of people may not be able to pay bribe to receive timely and quality health services. According to Markovska and Isaeva, poor segments of the Ukrainian society would not obtain quality health care services unless state-run health institutions operate fairly (“Public Sector Corruption”). A healthy population is certainly an indicator of overall economic development of a country. Admittedly, education is one of the key pillars of an economy because properly educated people can significantly contribute to the economic uplift of a society by bringing remarkable developments in the field of commerce, science, and technology. Corruption in the higher education sector would result in the formation of a brainless generation and this situation in turn may impede the economic growth of Ukraine. In addition, the corrupt higher education sector would negatively affect the student s’ morale and therefore students may give little importance to the ideals of honesty, service, and ethics. In short, corruption in the Ukrainian higher education sector would augment the overall corruption rate of the country. Corrupted policing and judicial systems not only fail to address corrupt practices at the governmental level but also amplify the current corruption rate. Undoubtedly, the corrupt law enforcement systems would give the public a negative message that law violations may not be treated strictly. While analyzing the issue of corruption from an economic perspective, it seems that this problem leads to price hikes. When business firms are demanded to pay bribes in order to obtain registration certificates and other permits, they consider it as an operating cost and hence pass that cost to consumers. It is clear that multinational enterprises and foreign entrepreneurs would stay away from countries where corruption is highly prevalent. This situation can negatively impact the GDP growth of Ukraine and thus the country may experience a stunted economic growth. Dubrovski opines that reduced investment may sometimes end up in inflation, which would worsen the economic status of the country (135). In the view of Yikona et al, Corruption can have adverse budgetary consequences because this issue causes the government to lose huge amounts in taxes and hence affects the government’s ability to finance budget expenditures resulting in deficit financing (n.a). Finally poor maintenance of public infrastructure and greater uncertainty in economic transactions are some other negative consequences of corruption. Potential Ways to Curb Corruption In order to fight corruption in Ukrainian government effectively, first it is necessary to limit the influence of politicians and bureaucrats on court decisions. Juridical independence is inevitable to ensure that laws are strictly enforced in the country and the government does not act against constitutional principles. An independent judicial system can play a significant role in preventing government level corruption effectively because judges do not need to worry about revengeful actions by politicians under such a system and hence they can make fair decisions. In the opinion of Popova, promotion of juridical independence or the separation of judicial powers and political powers is inevitable to eradicate issues like corruption (“Political Competition…”). It is advisable for authorities concerned to appoint a whistleblower in all government departments so as to get alarmed of fraud and other misconducts on time. However, it is essential to ensure that whistleblowers appointed do not have any personal interest in the particular department and they are trustworthy enough to perform the job. Such a system would put a morale check on corrupt officials and therefore they may abstain from corrupt practices. Similarly, it is recommendable for common Ukrainian people to use social networking sites as a common platform to raise their voice against corruption in the government. Today social websites has become increasingly popular in all areas of life because it is a cheap and convenient method to communicate and to express ideas and opinions. Using social websites, people can create public groups to post and share texts, images, and videos against corruption. Considering the current importance of social media in modern life, politicians give specific importance to the views and opinions expressed in social websites before making a crucial decision. It would be a good idea to show government offices’ operations live through official websites because this strategy would increase the transparency of governmental operations. In addition, it is vital to address the issue of red tapism as corrupt officials mainly use this tool to demand bribes and other unfair incentives. Once the red tape is cut and client needs are met timely and effectively, there would be few cases of bribery. Furthermore, it is particularly important to take strict actions against politicians and other government officials who are found guilty of corruption. The Ukrainian judicial system must take initiatives to introduce such a policy in the country. It is better to take the example of India, the largest democracy in the world. As Venkatesan reports, the Indian Supreme Court recently ruled that politicians who are found guilty of criminal charges will lose their official positions and they cannot compete in public elections for a period of six years (“MPs, MLAs to be disqualified..”). It is a potential law to make sure that criminals and corrupt people do not hold official positions. As politicians will immediately be terminated from their official positions once they are found guilty of criminal conducts, they would not try to take unfair advantages of their position any longer. This type of a policy change can better assist the Ukrainian government system to eradicate the evil of corruption to a great extent. It must also be noted that a speedy trial and disposal of corruption-related cases is essential to promote the government’s anti-corruption efforts. Another important strategy to fight corruption is to establish well developed corruption detection mechanisms. No matter how effective the laws are unless there is potential corruption detection mechanism put in place. Although the Ukrainian media actively work to disclose corruption stories to public, a lot of cases of corruption still go undetected. At this juncture, an effective corruption detection mechanism can plan a key role in preventing corrupt practices in government departments. Moreover, it is inevitable to change the attitude of society toward corruption and corrupt officials. People and media forget a corruption scandal after two or three days’ discussions and then they change their attention to new incidents. Most of the people hold the view that the issue of corruption does not affect them personally and fighting corruption is the responsibility of the government. In addition, many people give votes to the same political party continuously regardless of the candidate’s political background. This is the major reason why even highly corrupt people are repeatedly elected to the parliament and other key positions in the government system. The current rate of corruption in the Ukrainian government can be addressed only if the corrupt officials are concerned about people’s response to their actions. As public funds are utilized to pay government officials’ salaries, common people have the right and responsibility to ensure that those officials’ operations are in line with the current laws. Such a change in public attitude towards corruption would make government officials and executives accountable for their operations and this situation in turn may reduce the rate of corruption in governmental affairs. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is clear that the Ukrainian government has been severely affected by corruption and subsequent issues. This problem is more common in sectors like policing, courts, higher education, healthcare, and business. Undue influence of politicians over the court system and increased tolerance of the public are the major causes leading to a high corruption rate in the country. Amendment of laws can be a potential strategy to put a moral check on government officials and to prevent corruption. Furthermore people’s attitude towards social welfare has to be basically changed in order to find an ultimate solution to corruption. Common people must raise their voice against corruption through channels like social websites. In short, collective efforts of people and government are vital to abolish the evil of corruption from the country. Works Cited Bissessar, Nicole. Corruption: Its Persistence, Causes and Consequences. ProQuest, 2008. Web. Byrne, Peter. “Jackpot”. KyivPost. March 26, 2010. Web 17 Nov 2013 Danilova, Maria. “Hundreds protest alleged Ukraine election fraud”. 05 November 2012. Web 17 Nov 2013 Dubrovski, Kiymet and Idowu, Samuel O. Emerging Fraud: Fraud Cases from Emerging Economies. Springer, 2012. Print. Leipnik, O and Kyrychenko, S. “The public utilities war and corruption in Ukraine”. Post-Communist Economies (25, 2. 2013). Markovska, Anna and Isaeva, Anna. “Public Sector Corruption: Lessons to be learned from the Ukrainian Experience”. Crime Prevention and Community Safety: an International Journal (2007) 9, 118–129. Nitsevych, Arthur. “Potential for German investors: entering the Ukrainian market”. Germen Law Journal, 5: 6 (2004). 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