Freedom from corruption is important for the task of military defeat of the enemy and the formation of Ukraine as a free and prosperous country, - Oleksandr Novikov

The victory of Ukraine has two components - the task of military defeat of the foreign enemy, the formation of Ukraine as a free and prosperous country. Freedom from corruption is critical for both constituents. Freedom from corruption can be achieved through a combination of effective prevention of corruption and the inevitability of punishment for it. The State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023-2025 (the Program) is one of the few comprehensive documents that provide an answer to the question of how to set up the state to be effective. Implementation of the Program will ensure the system and coordination of the state anti-corruption policy, because even useful, but episodic and unsystematic legislative initiatives cannot ensure the effectiveness of the state as a whole. Stable democratic institutions are a necessary condition for victory over the external enemy. Implementation of the Program will help to eliminate the causes of corruption, and not only fight its consequences. This was stated by the Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) Oleksandr Novikov during the presentation of the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023-2025 “Road to a Future without Corruption: Step-by-Step Guide”, which took place on April 5. "Without a common vision and goal for the interaction of all authorities, it is impossible to ensure a high-quality final result. Therefore, the Program is exactly the kind of vision that will help to form a government with integrity and a just society, as well as to fulfill society's request for justice", -  noted the Head of the NACP. Oleksandr Novikov thanked the Parliament, the Government, international partners, colleagues from anti-corruption institutions, representatives of central executive bodies, journalists and public organizations for their active assistance in developing the Program project. He added that the it's implementation is a joint work on the document of all authorities, and civil society will be able to monitor the results of each event on a special portal that will be available soon. Representatives of the Parliament, the Government, the Office of the President of Ukraine, ministries, anti-corruption institutions, diplomatic institutions and public organizations joined the discussion of anti-corruption policy and the implementation of the Program measures. During the event, the results of the sociological survey “Corruption in Ukraine 2022: Understanding, Perception, Prevalence” were presented. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk noted that the issue of preventing and countering corruption does not lose its relevance even during martial law. "I am pleased to note that Ukraine is showing significant progress in this regard, despite the fact that almost all the resources of the state and society today are directed to protection against Russian aggression", said the Speaker of the Parliament. He added that the practical implementation of the measures provided for in the Program will make it possible to clean the state apparatus of unscrupulous officials, eradicate corruption schemes in key areas of public policy, and significantly reduce the number of corruption-inducing factors in legislation. "Implementation of the Program is critically important not only for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, but also for the fight against the Russian Federation now. At the strategic and political level, Ukraine is making progress in reforming anti-corruption processes, and the NACP plays a significant role in this", -  noted Matti Maasikas, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine. Oleh Nemchynov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, noted that the central bodies of the executive power and the Cabinet of Ministers as a collective body "extremely carefully studied each sheet of the Program." This shows how important this policy document is for each institution. The head of the High Anti-Corruption Court, Vira Mykhaylenko, emphasized that the Program is a certain navigator that moves the state into the legal space and removes all the obstacles that prevent the main goal of establishing the principles of the rule of law. Anti-corruption policy was also discussed during the event in priority areas: defense, infrastructure restoration, digitalization, land management, education. The Ministry of Digital Transformation supports the implementation of the Program, as the program fully complies with the principles of transparency and digitalization of all government processes. This was said by Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology - Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. "Corruption is a tool of colonization, it is something that is tolerated deep in the minds of our people. And these are the things that can be eliminated only with the tools of education, only during the entire educational process. If we are talking about the implementation of state policy, it is a broad cross-cutting educational program for the formation of intolerance to corruption in every citizen of Ukraine", -  noted Oksen Lisovyi, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine. Therefore, according to him, it is important to implement civic education programs starting from junior high school. In addition, it is important to strengthen the training of teachers and relevant tools in higher education, which is provided for in the Program. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, noted that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is ready to be one of the leaders in the execution and implementation of the Program. "It is now critically important for Ukraine to prevent corruption in the sphere of security and defense. The support of our partners and the approach of our victory depend on this", -  noted Oleksii Reznikov. The participants also discussed the further development of anti-corruption institutions during the panel. The Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) Semen Kryvonos noted that the Program provides for a number of structural "beacons" to increase the efficiency in the investigation of crimes and the work capacity of the NABU. In particular, this is an increase in the number of detectives by 300 people, the formation of a state expert institution under NABU. Deputy Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) Andrii Sinyuk added that it is important to explain the work of anti-corruption bodies and their results to society in an accessible and understandable manner. He also noted the important mechanisms provided for in the Program, which will help increase the efficiency of the SAPO and speed up the investigation. In particular, we are talking about granting the first deputy, the deputy head of the SAPO, the powers of the head of the SAPO in case of his absence. For example, if necessary, the executive officer could form a group of prosecutors in criminal proceedings. This will make it possible to strengthen the independence of SAPO. Also important are the measures of the Program to improve the competition for the post of head of the SAPO. Anastasia Radina, head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on anti-corruption policy, also emphasized the need to strengthen the independence of SAPO. In particular, during the dismissal of the head of the SAPO and to introduce a similar competition for this position, as in NABU and NACP. In addition, Anastasia Radina drew attention to the topic of electronic declaration. "Today, it is necessary to talk not only about the need to restore electronic declaration, but first of all, to renew the authority of the NACP to check declarations. This will make it possible to ensure comprehensive control over the fortunes of high-ranking officials", -  said the Head of the Committee. The representatives of the authorities discussed the priority steps in the implementation of the Program. The head of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative, Allan Pugh Christensen, noted that on Ukraine's path to the EU, the issue of fighting corruption and implementing the program is even more important. He noted that civil society organizations and international partners will closely monitor the implementation of the document. The head of the Public Council at the NACP, Kateryna Butko, noted that the war only strengthened the need to speed up the fight against corruption and the implementation of strategic documents. But it is worth speeding up the implementation of the Anti-corruption program and strategy as much as possible. The event was held with the support of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) — the leading anti-corruption program in Ukraine, financed by the EU, co-financed and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. You can watch the full video on YouTube in English. Results of the sociological survey "Corruption in Ukraine 2022: Understanding, Perception,Prevalence".