After the resignation of Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius, his team of Western-educated deputies Max Nefyodov, Nataliya Mykolska, Yulia Klymenko and Yulia Kovaliv followed suit. So did Olena Tregub, head of the international assistance department.
Now they’re waiting for a formal approval from the Cabinet of Ministers.
“We’ve achieved a lot, we have even more plans, but we see the obstacles that prevent the implementation of our plans,” Nefyodov said on his Facebook page.
His greatest achievement as deputy minister was introducing the electronic procurement system ProZorro, which has saved an estimated $200 million in taxpayers’ money so far this year. All state purchases will shift to this platform by the end of 2016.
Nefyodov wants to keep helping Ukraine improve, but as a volunteer, activist, or adviser, not as a state official. “I’ll continue to do everything I can to help complete the reforms I’m responsible for,” he said.
Nefyodov has also been working on a website that reports on international aid, investments in waste recycling, and technical regulation reform.
His colleague Nataliya Mykolska, who was the nation’s trade representative at the ministry, said she would keep working on reform right up until her resignation is approved. “I have and I will finish all priority projects,” she said.
After Ukraine lost the Russian market due to the war in the Donbas and Moscow’s trade embargo, Mykolska went out in search of replacement partners. She built ties with Turkey and China, strengthened the free-trade agreement with European Union, and encouraged Ukrainian business to focus on exports.
While emphasizing the achievements of the entire ministry, Mykolska paid particular tribute to Abromavicius.
Deputy
Ministers Yuliya Kovaliv and Yulia Klymenko also confirmed they would
continue to work on reforms as activists. They said they would focus on
reforming administrative service, deregulation, and various programs
that support small- and medium-sized enterprises.
“We will further support these reforms as activists, and we won’t allow any corrupt people to stop them,” Klymenko said.
