Page 22 - bne_newspaper_May 5 2017

Opinion
May 5, 2017 www.intellinews.com I Page 22
questioned. And since many current ministers have also served in unsuccessful post-revolution administrations, it is difficult to imagine how seri- ous reform can be achieved. All the more so be- cause Yanukovych cronies – widely recognised to have been at least complicit in the wholesale loot- ing of the country under Yanukovych – continue
to sit in parliament, as well as enjoying immunity from prosecution. Ukrainians are highly sceptical that things will get better, after a decade of largely unfulfilled promises.
In many ways, the country appears caught in a Catch-22 situation. The bureaucracy needs new personnel to ensure the reform process suc- ceeds, but there is concern that old civil servants are being replaced by incompetent and inexpe- rienced staff while those holding back Ukraine remain in place. According to some analysts, the consequences of the desire for a new broom have paralysed certain public bodies which now lack the expertise to carry out their functions properly.
The government is under pressure to demon- strate progress particularly since living standards in the country have fallen dramatically in recent years. But apart from an impressive array of e- government programmes, it does not have much to show for its efforts. In early April, Prime Minis- ter Volodymyr Groysman, a year into his premier-
ship, sought to reassure Ukrainians and foreign investors, saying the positive effects of his liber- alising measures would begin to be felt this year, and he promised to increase the state pension.
And yet for all the difficulties facing Ukraine, it is impossible to come away feeling anything other than optimistic about its future. Signs of a nascent spirit of enterprise amongst the young are very noticeable with a host of new cafes and restau- rants opening up, many extolling the virtues of domestic produce. The emphasis on locally-grown goods was almost entirely absent ten years ago.
While I politely declined the offer of craft Ukrain- ian whiskey, I was struck nonetheless by the liveliness of Kyiv’s restaurant scene. Talking to a group of customers, a common theme was their engagement with the reform process and a desire to see real economic progress. Over the last few years, Ukrainian entrepreneurs have begun to change the face of their capital. The government must now follow suit.
Jonathan Melliss is a senior analyst at the Ala-
co business intelligence consultancy. Alaco Dis- patches is the business intelligence consultancy’s take on events and developments shaping the CIS region.
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