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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЖОВТЕНЬ 2015 WWW.UNWLA.ORG 19 WESTERN-EDUCATED UKRAINIANS SEEKING TO TRANSFORM GOVERNMENT FROM KEY POSTS by Yuliana Romanyshyn Since the EuroMaidan Revolution, many Ukrainians who lived in the West have dropped their well-paid jobs and returned to Ukraine, in- spired to change the country with their newly ac- quired knowledge. So far, they have achieved mixed success in key government roles, where they have not al- ways been welcomed. In March 2014, a group of the Ukrainian alumni of Western universities launched the Pro- fessional Government Initiative to help authori- ties overcome the economic downturn by match- ing educated Ukrainians with government bodies in need of professionals. Members of the Harvard Club of Ukraine, followed by alumni from the London School of Economics, INSEAD Business School, Columbia University, University of Oxford, Cambridge, and other schools, joined the initiative. Today it unites more than 3,000 Ukrainians willing to offer their skills to the government. Their mission is to help Ukraine achieve what the West expects of it: accelerate economic reforms, eliminate corruption, strengthen the rule of law and democracy, and promote a transparent hiring process for government positions. To bring professionals into government, Professional Government Initiative started a web- site for hiring, www.proukrgov.org. Now one can upload a CV to the website’s database of profes- sionals. When a government body addresses the initiative with a list of vacancies, it gets a list of suitable candidates within 24 hours. Professional Government Initiative al- ready found jobs for more than 50 applicants. Its coordinator Oleg Goncharenko says that while the young Western-educated Ukrainians want to work for the state, the state doesn’t always want them. “The problem is that some people in the government are against newcomers,” he says. Sergiy Konovets got hired as deputy board chairman at state-owned energy monopolist Naftogaz in May 2014. With an MBA from Swit- zerland, he applied with a CV, being at “an emo- tional peak after the Revolution of Dignity,” and was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. “It was done very quickly and transpar- ently,” he says. “And since then I got many ques- tions from different people, like ‘Whose interests you represent in Naftogaz.’” Konovets said the initiative helps. “It could expand not only to the central government, but also to the regions,” he says. Working in Naftogaz for more than a year, Konovets is satisfied with his team. “It would be very difficult to change the situation without like- minded people,” he says. Konovets has not seen any new corruption schemes appear in Naftogaz while he’s been work- ing there and the new team has been trying hard to squeeze out the old ones. “We significantly improved our transpar- ency over the last year, and openness to the socie- ty,” he says. He won’t talk about his salary, but says it is lower than in his previous job at Boston Con- sulting Group. “Historically people paid for the positions in the state-owned company, like Naftogaz,” he says. “Getting into this company at the top po- sition allowed them to steal money.” Low public salaries are an impediment to good government. “The result of not solving this problem is that I cannot hire good people in the state-owned company,” he says. Working long hours, Konovets describes his “biggest frustration” as focus turf—an individ- ual ministry or department—rather than the greater good. Sergiy Petukhov, a 31-year-old lawyer who graduated from the University of Cambridge, was hired as deputy minister for European integration at the Ministry of Justice on July 27. But it took awhile. “Some people had nev- er called back, some positions were canceled,” he says. Petukhov applied twice to become a depu- ty with the Ministry of Energy because of his rele- vant background. He was rejected twice before the ministry canceled the position. “For some rea- son this ministry still doesn’t have the deputy minister for European integration,” he says. In his new job at the Ministry of Justice, Petukhov plans to concentrate on legal issues in- volving the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula and Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine’s east.
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