Visionary Conference held by Kyiv Post in Ukrainian capital

The Kyiv Post, an English-language weekly, held its traditional annual Tiger Conference on 29 November at the Hilton Hotel. The venue has a visionary function and this time brought together decision-makers in the new Ukrainian government, representatives of civil society, NGOs, media and business. The agenda was designed to discover the prospects of Ukraine’s development till 2020.

 The emotional speech of Mikheil Saakashvili, the recently-departed governor of Odessa Region, accused the current political party in power of blocking his reforms. He also explained that he is being blocked in the media and, especially, on the main TV channels owned by oligarchs. Another key message from Mr. Saakashvili was the invocation of snap elections.

 The issues of Ukrainian security and defense were considered throughout the clear understanding that no other state or military bloc will assist our country. The reality is that there are no international guarantees for sovereignty and a policy of self-reliance is the only way to react to foreign aggression. Another point of debate was the Ukrainian ambitions of joining the NATO, reaching its standards, as well as the alliance’s ability to accept such a member state.

 Unfortunately, the issue of recovering assets unlawfully taken by former politicians is often raised at different conferences in the context of an absolutely unviable recovery plan on the part of the Ukrainian state. The only visible public step yet is the establishment of a special institution to address the problem.

 Andriy Stelmashchuk, managing partner of Vasil Kisil and Partners, informed about the appointment of Anton Yanchuk, the current deputy justice minister, as the head of the State Agency for Asset Recovery Management under the Cabinet of Ministers. According to him, words, the government planned to recover around UAH 7.7 billion in 2016, and even UAH 10.5 billion in 2017. However, the real statistics aired by Mr. Stelmashchuk were shocking. He confirmed that the state managed to recover UAH 71,000 – 74,000 during the outgoing year.

 Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, stated that there is no publicly presented evidence of the work of the Prosecutor-General’s Office.

 The participants were skeptical regarding asset tracing prospects, while moderator Natalie Jaresko, former minister of finance, noted that even third party funding of asset tracing envisages confidence in the domestic criminal process.

 The final session, which called for “a reality check”, has revealed the overall understanding of slow decision-making in reforms, dissatisfaction on the part of society, disappointment among young reformers who came to public service and started to leave it throughout the past year. As the ex-Minister of Economy Aivaras Abromavicius noted, Ukraine is a country of second chances. “Why can’t reformers make a comeback”, he asked.