Letter: Ukraine can link reconstruction with anti-corruption reform

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy

13 October 2023

Tony Barber provides an excellent overview of the rationale and some of the measures being taken in Ukraine to combat corruption (“Battling corruption in Ukraine”, Europe Express, FT.com, September 30). He rightly focuses on the government’s commitment to legal reform and enforcement and on holding top decision makers accountable.

Underpinning this effort is a broader engagement and participation of the whole of society.

In former authoritarian countries, defeating antiquated attitudes and social norms is just as big a challenge as issuing new rules and regulations. Thirty years on from the collapse of the Soviet Union, of the 15 former republics of the USSR only the Baltic republics and Georgia are in the top quartile of the 2022 Corruption Perception Index ranking. They achieved this with a combination of political will and a multi-stakeholder approach. Where this has not happened, anti-corruption reforms have languished.

Ukraine has got off to a good start, supported by western governments, development banks and international and local NGOs.

Globally, the importance of the private sector as an ally of government in combating corruption has been recognised by the US government.

In Ukraine, the new generation of investors and multinationals involved in the reconstruction effort will have a key part in rooting out corruption and raising business standards to the best international level.

If handled right, Ukraine could become a unique experiment in both the reconstruction of physical infrastructure and in reprogramming the “software” of society based on rule of law, transparency and accountability.

This article was first published in the Financial Times

Article by CEO of IBLF Global

Brook Horowitz