Ukraine’s Western partners talk a good game about how Ukraine needs to be more transparent in public finances.
But they don’t always live up to their word. Ever tried to find out the salary of some people who are paid by international governmental institutions? It’s very difficult. Some of it is by design. Take the Ukrainian business ombudsman’s position. The international donors, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has decided the salary of the person is a secret. If you are a member of a business or other association, do you know how much the top executive makes? You’re entitled to know, but good luck finding out.
Also, it’s needlessly difficult to find what top officials and members of supervisory boards in state-owned enterprises are getting paid for their work — even though the companies belong to the public.
Naftogaz provided the most recent example. The 100-plus page financial statement from 2020 does not individually break out the pay of the top 17 officials. It merely says they collectively made $25 million, double the compensation of the previous year. What does Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev make? It’s not clear, but it’s in the millions of dollars yearly.
In an interview with the Kyiv Post, Clare Spottiswoode, the chair of the Naftogaz supervisory board, said the omission was intentional because executive pay is a politically sensitive issue in Ukraine. Our counter-argument is, precisely, which is exactly why the individual pay of public companies should be readily available publicly. To her credit, at least, Spottiswoode said the board is paid $83,000 monthly for their work at Naftogaz. Too much or too little? We’re not going to make these judgments. We understand the need to pay competitive salaries to attract top talent in demanding jobs. But it should be up to the taxpayers, ultimately, to decide. And for them to make informed decisions, they need to know the finances — and that includes salaries of leaders at more than 3,000 government-owned enterprises. That’s called good governance.
