Selection committees should assess not only the professionalism but also the business reputation of candidates for senior positions in government agencies. This also applies to the Deposit Guarantee Fund. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive commentary to UNN by Oleh Shram, a lawyer and former advisor to the Director of the State Bureau of Investigation.
Context
In September, an IMF mission will start working in Ukraine in preparation for the fifth review of the Extended Fund Facility program. The expert discussions will focus on Ukraine's compliance with the terms of the Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies. One of the points of the document is to develop a procedure and hold a competition for the head of the DGF in the spring of 2025. Experts say that the IMF has long insisted on changing approaches to human resources policy in Ukraine.
Reputation is very important, and it is equal to professionalism, i.e. it is a key factor along with professionalism. However, in Ukraine, everything works differently because we have a broken system of selection and placement of personnel. All the competitive procedures that are used do not fulfill the function that is assigned to them and that society expects from them. Because no competition commission can deal with a candidate in a short time, give him or her a proper assessment and determine how professional and untainted he or she is,
According to him, when selecting candidates for senior positions in government agencies, commissions must take into account the reputation of applicants.
If a person has a negative or bad reputation, this must be taken into account when making personnel decisions and appointing a person to a position. If a person's reputation has been damaged during the course of their work, this should also be monitored and action taken,
He added that the institute of business reputation is not yet working at a sufficient level in Ukraine, as there are examples of officials continuing to work in their positions despite a far from impeccable reputation. And this, in turn, has a negative impact on the reputation of the entire state body.
Perhaps that is why one of the IMF's main requirements is transparent and open competitions for positions with the involvement of international experts in the selection of candidates. After all, it is representatives of Western countries who pay considerable attention to reputation.
Recall
Following the dismissal of Svitlana Rekrut as Managing Director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, her deputy, Olga Bilay, is now acting as the head. According to media reports, despite the IMF's demands, the Fund's Administrative Board plans to appoint a new manager behind closed doors. Two main candidates are currently being considered-Bilay and Pavlo Polarush, head of the National Bank's Department for Work with Troubled Assets, who is widely considered the main contender for the post.
According to media reports, Polarush has repeatedly traveled abroad since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, journalists reported that in November 2022, he received permission to leave the country from the odious former Deputy Minister of Defense, who is currently a suspect in corruption crimes. The permit was allegedly issued to Polarush to travel abroad in an elite Lexus car to receive humanitarian aid. However, it is not yet known on what grounds Polarush traveled abroad from February to November 2022.
Mykola Velychkovych , a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, believesthat law enforcement should investigate Polarush's travels abroad. A member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security and Defense, Hennadiy Kasai , does not rule outthat Polarush may have problems with the special vetting process for the position of managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund.