The government of Ukraine on Wednesday dismissed the first Deputy Minister of internal Affairs Eka Zguladze, what in his Twitter said the Minister of internal Affairs Arsen Avakov. According to him, Zguladze has resigned at own will. After the formation in April of a new government of the country in it, there is not one of the three foreign Ministers, reduced the number of foreigners and on the posts of Deputy heads of various departments. Some of the retired declared intention to continue to oversee the areas for which they were responsible.
Ally Saakashvili
37-year-old Zguladze was invited to work in Ukraine in late 2014, along with other foreigners for the development and implementation of reforms. Zguladze — a citizen of Georgia, and the condition of its work in Ukraine was obtaining Ukrainian citizenship, which was granted to her by President Petro Poroshenko. In Georgia, Zguladze was part of the reform team of President Mikhail Saakashvili and interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. In 2006 Zguladze became Deputy Merabishvili, and in 2012 briefly headed the Department. After the defeat of Saakashvili’s party in the 2012 election Zguladze resigned from the Executive.
In Ukraine the main task Zguladze was the reform of the system of internal Affairs and the establishment of the national police, which was allocated to the patrol force by analogy with the one that was launched in Georgia. As told in a 2010 BBC Zguladze, the philosophy of the reform was to transform the police from a repressive structure in the service of services. Changed police offices, the structure of the Department has been optimized, about 50 thousand employees were fired, and the remaining passed strict certification. In 2004 was created the patrol police, who, according to the BBC, has helped to rebuild public confidence in the police.
In Ukraine, Zguladze was trying to use the already tried and tested methods. By may of this year almost in all regions of the country earned the patrol force. In the same way as in Georgia, the equipment and a new form for employees provided US. November 7, 2015 was adopted the law on the national police. “Will still be a transition. Still have a few months of personnel changes and certifications <…> But everything! The police [6 November] closed,” rejoiced the Minister of internal Affairs Arsen Avakov. He headed the national police Khatia Dekanoidze.
Head of Odessa oblast Saakashvili said Wednesday that he was proud to work in the government Zguladze, its activity, he called the first example of this successful reforms in Ukraine”.
Zguladze in a statement issued on Wednesday evening, did not explain the reasons for my resignation. But he also pointed out that in December of last year expired a term of one year, which she agreed to work. But then she did not resign to bring to an end the creation of the patrol police.
The start of the new police force was not smooth. In April of this year, Ukrainian media reported about the dismissal Zguladze after criticism that hit on the new structure after in February this year a police patrol in Kiev during the pursuit opened fire on the car of the alleged infringer, with the result that was fatally injured 17-the summer passenger Michael Medvedev. Patrol Sergey Oleynik was arrested. Zguladze called the court decision on the case is a manifestation of selective justice.
Foreign experts
Foreigners first entered the government of Ukraine in December 2014. The intention to invite foreign experts said Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has supported the decision of the President Poroshenko. But as he told one of those who was invited, Lithuanian aivaras Abromavicius, the selection of Ministers in the new government Yatsenyuk has been the head of the presidential administration Borys Lozhkin. Poroshenko in an article for the Wall Street Journal pointed to the fact that foreigners are necessary for Ukraine to conduct reforms and transfer of best practices.
The government ultimately included three foreign Ministers and a few people took the posts of Deputy Ministers, included in Advisory boards, and one of Saakashvili, received the post of Governor.
Ministers worked: American Natalia Yaresko (Minister of Finance), Lithuanian aivaras Abromavicius-Minister of economic development), the Georgian Alexander Kvitashvili (Minister of health). All of them, occupying their posts, talked about the need to optimize the work of departments, to implement transparent public procurement procedures.
Abromavicius in an interview with “Ukrainian truth” was told that his Ministry started the deregulation and restructuring of the Ministry, the reform of public procurement and the reform of state-owned companies. However, in February this year, he said that the reform is opposed by the people around the President, and resigned. “I and my team have no desire to be a cover for blatant corruption or controlled by puppets for those who want the style of the old regime to establish control over public money”, — said Abromavicius.
Before him, in July 2015 resigned Kvitashvili, also worked in the Saakashvili government in Georgia. Kvitashvili said that his resignation require those politicians who resist reform. It also did not work with Parliament.
Natalia Yaresko public dissatisfaction with the progress of work is not expressed and in the spring has agreed to become Prime Minister. In August 2015 Jaresko managed to negotiate with the group of funds-creditors to write off 20% of the basic debt on Eurobonds, or $3.8 billion However, the post of Prime Minister eventually took a Ukrainian, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Hroisman, the government had formed a political and not technocratic.
In the end, the resignation of Kvitashvili and Abromavicius, Yaresko was held in April, when he left all the government of Yatsenyuk.
The attorney General’s office as Deputy public Prosecutor and Prosecutor of the Odessa region in 2015 was awarded to David Sakvarelidze, who worked in the Georgian state office of public Prosecutor under Saakashvili. In March, he was dismissed by the Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, who was criticized for opposing reforms.
In may in Ukraine, and all entered into force the law on civil service, the prohibition to hold gosdolzhnosti holders of a second citizenship. This was the reason for the departure of two Vice Saakashvili. Russian Maria Gaidar and the citizen of Germany Alexander Borovik has resigned from the post of Deputy Governor but said he will remain his advisors.
Saakashvili continues to work on his post because of Georgian citizenship, he was deprived of the President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili in 2015. Two more Georgian Deputy Minister of justice of Ukraine Gia Getsadze and the head of the national police Khatia Dekanoidze yet retained their posts. To deprive them of citizenship was not reported, but the Georgian Ambassador in Kyiv Mikhail Ukleba said that it will be done.
To say that foreigners did not take root in Ukraine, it would be wrong, each resignation has its own story: originally Abromavicius said that comes to work for a year, and this year formed a team, which is now virtually runs the Ministry, Sakvarelidze came into conflict, but remains in the country, and it is possible that he would return to politics, says Ukrainian political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko. The main goal of the aliens was to remove the problem of lack of reform credibility, but still in society there was a request that the Cabinet was more Ukrainians, said Fesenko.
One can hardly say that the invited foreigners has had a very positive influence on the reforms, rather, they legitimized them and took the responsibility of Ukrainian politicians, now for failures and unpopular measures the liability may be extended to foreigners, says Ukrainian analyst Anatoly ACTiSYS.
Foreigners on the ground
Zguladze, Borovik and Gaidar are going to stay in Ukraine and work with advisors. Continues the practice of appointing foreigners to positions of Directors of large state-owned companies: British mark Rollins is headed by “Ukrnafta”, and in April of this year, “Ukrzaliznytsia” (“Ukrainian Railways” headed by a pole, Wojciech Balczun. Another Georgian Guizot Ugulava remains Deputy head of the anti-corruption Bureau. Polish reformer Leszek Balcerowicz is President of Ukraine, ex-Minister of Finance of Slovakia Ivan Miklos has to head created when the new Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expert group on the implementation of the reforms.
