The Independent Defence Anti-Corruption Committee (Nezalezhny Antikorrupciynii Komitet z pytan oborony, “NAKO”) urges the Government to define criteria and procedure for the selection of the head of SC Ukroboronprom and hold an open discussion of candidates for this position.
On February 12, 2018, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko dismissed the Director General of SC “Ukroboronprom” Roman Romanov from the post by his decree.
In accordance with the Statute of the Concern, the Director General is appointed by the President of Ukraine at the request of the Prime Minister of Ukraine. At the same time, there are currently no certain criteria and procedure for selection of candidates for such a responsible and important position.
“Today, it is extremely important to choose professional and respected people for the position of the head of Ukroboronprom. It should be done through transparent procedures and with application of meritocratic principles. The best of the best should manage the Concern”, said co-chairman of the NAKO Oleh Rybachuk.
Ukraine has an experience of holding open competitions for the positions of heads of state enterprises. With this view, a respective Committee on Appointment of Heads of Particularly Economically Important Enterprises has been established. The Committee consists of both independent members (without the right to vote) and representatives of the Government of Ukraine. Their task is to determine the criteria and hold selection of heads of the largest state enterprises.
On February 13, 2018, the press-center of SC Ukroboronprom informed that the Supervisory Board was completing the selection of candidates for the new Director General, who would be appointed by the President of Ukraine. Indeed, according to the best international practices, the appointment of the Director General is the power of the Supervisory Board, and the Supervisory Board should be involved in the selection of the new Director. However, first of all, in accordance with the current legislation, nomination of candidates for the Director General of the Concern is a prerogative power of the Prime Minister of Ukraine, not of the Supervisory Board of Ukroboronprom. Secondly, it comes as a surprise that the selection of candidates ends the very day after Roman Romanov’s displacement and this selection was held in such a non-transparent manner.
NAKO experts believe that holding a public selection and discussion of contenders will not only allow to find the best candidates, but will significantly increase the trust of Ukrainian society and the international community to the Concern.
“Earning back trust to the Concern is an overriding priority. Not only does Ukrainian society pose hard-hitting questions about the manifestations of corruption, but such accusations can be heard from Ukraine’s international partners with ever growing frequency. We have to show the best practices of management of the military industrial complex to earn back the trust and build effective cooperation in the field of defense and security,” said Secretary General of the NAKO Olena Tregub.
The NAKO is ready to provide the Government of Ukraine with suggestions on criteria and procedure for the selection of the head of SC “Ukroboronprom”.
The Independent Defence Anti-Corruption Committee (Nezalezhnyi Antykoruptsiinyi Komitet z pytan Oborony, or “NAKO”) is a joint initiative of TI’s Defence and Security global programme (TI-DS) and the Ukrainian Chapter of Transparency International.
The Committee consists of six members, three national – chief-editor of internet newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda Sevgil Musaeva, ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and former First Deputy Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Volodymyr Ogryzko, chairman of the NGO «Centre UA» and co-founder of the civil movement “Chesno” Oleh Rybachuk (NAKO co-chair) – and three international experts – ex-commander of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (NATO) Lt Gen Tim Evans, the Chair of the OECD Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions Drago Kos (NAKO co-chair), and former Head of Oversight of Public Utilities at the UN Mission in Kosovo James Wasserstrom.
The mission of the NAKO is to reduce opportunities for corruption through strong research, effective advocacy, and increased public awareness, in order to strengthen the Ukrainian defence and security sector’s ability to face challenges to the country’s sovereignty.
Media contact: Taras Yemchura, (098) 910-24-86, [email protected]
