On 20 August, the second season of the joint project by LB.ua and EFI Group's investment campaign New Country was launched, which has become a public platform for thoughts, suggestions, and visions of how to change the country for the better now and after the war.
The topic of the first panel discussion of the second season was "Justice as a key tool for state development". The panelists were:
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Vadym Skibitskyy, Deputy Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine of Ministry of Defence;
Vadym Skibitskyy
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Semen Kryvonos, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau;
Semen Kryvonos
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Viktor Pavlushchyk, Head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption;
Viktor Pavlushchyk
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Ihor Liski, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of EFI Group.
Ihor Liski
Among the guests were a well-known lawyer and military officer Masi Nayyem, Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bondar, Business Ombudsman Roman Vashchuk, founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab and The Reckoning Project, journalist Nataliya Humenyuk, MPs and representatives of the public sector, etc.
The main topic of the meeting was the discussion of the concept of justice in its various aspects, but as an indispensable tool for the development of a successful state.
"There will be victory. It is certain. We want it to happen soon. But there are many factors that can be discussed. But the main thing is that the international community understands that we are fighting a fair fight not just for our independence, for our existence. And we do not want to wait another 100 years. We had a huge chance, which we did not take advantage of in 1918, when there was a Ukrainian People's Republic. When we had all the necessary elements of an independent free state - ambassadors, military attaches in foreign countries at that time. We have no other chance like we have now. We are waging a just war, and this is probably why people understand us. People help us and believe in us, just as we believe in ourselves," said Vadym Skibitskyy, Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. And intelligence, he stressed, continues its work in restoring
According to NABU Head Semen Kryvonos, the fight against grand corruption is about restoring justice in the eyes of Ukrainian society.
"The NABU, the SAPO and all anti-corruption agencies prove that no matter how much you stole - 100 million, 200 million - no matter what position you hold, you will be brought to justice. This is a surgical tool. And we demonstrate through our actions, through direct exposés every day, every week, that we meet this demand [of society for justice]. Our latest disclosures concerning current officials, top officials - the Deputy Minister of Energy, the Head of the Antimonopoly Committee, heads of energy companies, current ministers, judges - are all a response to this request," Kryvonos said.
"Despite the war, Ukraine is a mega-transparent country compared to other countries. I talk to representatives of anti-corruption agencies in other countries and they do not have this transparency. Ukraine, with Diia, Prozorro, and the Electronic Register of Declarations, is the most transparent in the world, and it provides opportunities to implement administrative services," said Viktor Pavlushchyk, head of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, during the discussion. Corruption, he added, plays a significant role in shaping inequality among people and their sense of justice, so the effective work of anti-corruption agencies is particularly important for reforming the state today.
Instead, EFI Group Supervisory Board Chairman Ihor Liski believes that anti-corruption bodies should focus not only on punishing top corrupt officials - "it is too expensive for the state" - but also on proposing a model that would make it impossible to commit corruption. In his opinion, it is necessary to start by changing approaches to the selection of personnel to all government agencies and law enforcement agencies.
Expect detailed speeches of discussion speakers on LB.ua soon.
