We asked our research team to look at this phenomenon to see if we could correlate this data to gauge Ukraine’s national performance. The results of the research are shocking and graphically indicate that successive governments have totally overlooked the national interest and the interests of the people to a point of negligence. We found so many examples that we have had to divide the list and publish it over two issues of Democracy Watch.
1. HIV / Aids infection rates
Ukraine has over 360,000 people infected with the HIV/Aids virus. This is the highest infection rate in Europe at 1.63 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 49, and it is also the fastest rate of infection. The World Health Organization considers HIV/Aids to be a national epidemic.
People First comment: Ukraine’s infection rate is 4.3 times higher than in the U.K. where the health service has a national strategy to deal with the epidemic, thereby reducing the death rate to between 400 to 500 victims a year. Ukraine has no such strategy and has recently closed the only dedicated HIV / Aids hospital in the country. One can only assume that the government has decided that saving lives is no longer a priority and that the nation can afford to lose 360,000 young to middle-aged people. The Minister of Health must make HIV/Aids treatment a national priority and put in place a public education and awareness program to reduce the number of new infections.
The court system of Ukraine has failed. The public have lost all faith in the legal system and justice now goes, in the main, to the highest bidder.
2. Corruption
Ukraine and Russia both share the odious position of being the most corrupt countries in Europe and rank 146th in the world along side Zimbabwe and East Timor, both of which are considered failed states, Sierra Leone, which is emerging from war, Cameroon, Kenya and Ecuador.
People First comment: Corruption may be making a few people very rich but it is killing the country, damaging long-term investment prospects and draining the nation of much needed cash flow. Successive governments have failed to address this scourge. The government must lead by example, remove the absolute immunity of national deputies who manage budget costs as they see fit, secure the transparency and accountability of all those power and make all citizens of Ukraine equal under and subject to the law. Corruption can and must be beaten. Ukraine should work with the international community and learn from international experience.
3. Human rights violations
As a percentage of population Ukraine has more cases lodged with the European Court of Human Rights than any other nation. Currently, Ukraine has 129,000 cases under consideration . Only Russia and Turkey have more cases by total number.
People First comment: The court system of Ukraine has failed. The public have lost all faith in the legal system and justice now goes, in the main, to the highest bidder. The question is what happens next. No country can function properly without a viable legal system as the alternative is the law of the jungle and the gun. The government has no choice but to recognize this and to re-instate the primacy of law if human rights and national dignity are to prevail. Ukraine must abide fully with the international treaties it has signed on this issue.
The government should look at the experience of other nations and understand that civilized societies are judged on how they care for those less fortunate.
4. Charity… or the lack of it
Ukraine, Serbia, Burundi and Madagascar are amongst the least charitable nations on earth coming equal last out of 153 nations according to the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation survey ‘World Charity Rating.’ The report cites lack of legislation and charity infrastructure as the main road blocks.
People First comment: In reality Ukrainians are no less generous than any other nation. The issue is that successive governments still hold onto the former Soviet ideal of cradle to the grave social care. Unfortunately they have neither the financial power nor the mechanisms to change despite the fact that properly managed charities are far more effective than most state institutions. The government should look at the experience of other nations and understand that civilized societies are judged on how they care for those less fortunate.
5. Adolescent alcoholism
Ukraine leads the world in adolescent alcoholism. 40 percent of adolescents between the ages of 10 and 13 consume alcohol at least once per month. Russia, with more than 4 million registered alcoholics, is in 15th place whilst Israel came 2nd with 28 percent and the Czech Republic 3rd.
People First Comment: According to Ukrainian law, beer is not an alcoholic beverage; thus whilst the government has made it illegal to drink beer in the street, it is not illegal to sell beer to anybody including minors. On the other hand it is illegal for children and adolescents to buy tobacco. It would appear that whilst the tobacco lobby has lost its argument, the beer lobby still holds sway. It should be illegal to sell any alcoholic beverage to anybody less than 18 years of age and the government should put the public interest over that of the beer producers. This is sensible not only in protecting the health of adolescents but in reducing the cost to the state of dealing with drink-related illness and violence.
Ukrainians are not the best behaved motorists in the world and some think nothing of driving on pavements, crossing oncoming traffic and forcing others out of their way. This is road anarchy where the laws of the jungle prevail. Perhaps it is time to consider the Georgian option of firing all the road police and only rehiring those that will do their job properly.
6. National debt
Ukraine is the world’s second largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund after Romania with a debt of a staggering 12 billion dollars. Ukraine is also the 10th largest debtor to the World Bank along with China, India, Mexico and Turkey. In fact every household in Ukraine has a debt to the international community of around $11,500.
People First comment: It is so easy to spend somebody else’s money especially when it is not you that has to pay it back. Governments have fuelled profligate policies through international borrowing that will take the next generation decades to pay off. It will not be this government or the next that will be saddled with the repayment problem; it will be every family in the country through high taxes and reduced government services. As every housewife knows, you cannot spend what you don’t have.
7. Road deaths
Ukraine has the highest road accident death rate in Europe with up to 20 deaths a day. In fact 13 percent of all road accident deaths in Europe occur in Ukraine. Kyiv has 40 percent more road deaths per year than the whole of Great Britain, which has many more times the number of cars and kilometers of road.
People First comment: Is this surprising when the roll of the traffic police today has been denigrated to banditry rather than managing the growing legions of vehicles? Ukrainians are not the best behaved motorists in the world and some think nothing of driving on pavements, crossing oncoming traffic and forcing others out of their way. This is road anarchy where the laws of the jungle prevail. Perhaps it is time to consider the Georgian option of firing all the road police and only rehiring those that will do their job properly.
8. Human trafficking
Human traffickers in Ukraine, Belarus, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria are estimated to sell over 225,000 people into slavery every year with Ukraine leading the list. Since 1991, the International Organization for Migration estimates that over 100,000 Ukrainians are enslaved, many of which are young women who have been sold into the brothels and sex trade around the world.
People First comment: If these people were French or British or American citizens their governments would have sent in their Special Forces a long time ago to rescue them and taken steps to halt the trade, but the Ukrainian government does little. Again the value of life seems to count for nothing as there is profit in the slavery business but no profit in the rescue. It is a national disgrace that there is little or no public education. Films produced by NGOs are considered too ‘strong’ to be broadcast and as a result some of our most fragile young citizens are subject to a way of living long declared illegal in civilized society. The government should work with NGOs and international law enforcers and redouble efforts to end this disgraceful practice.
If the government is serious about sustainable economic growth, it should embrace a reform agenda that promotes enterprise and reverses this slide.
9. Economic Freedom
Ukraine holds last place in Europe for economic freedom. In the world ranking Ukraine comes 162nd out of 179 countries, sandwiched between Togo and Liberia.
People First comment: Economic freedom is directly linked to democracy, transparency and accountability of government. It is a result of the application of people oriented policies and legislation that encourage wealth creation for the majority, stimulating industry and growth in the economy. Sadly Ukraine is heading in exactly the opposite direction. If the government is serious about sustainable economic growth, it should embrace a reform agenda that promotes enterprise and reverses this slide.
10. Wealth creation
Ukrainians are the second poorest people in Europe ranking 39th out of the 40 nations and eclipsing only Moldova by a mere $200 per person. The average wealth of a Ukrainian citizen is just $2,700 whilst in Poland the figure is $28,600, in Romania it is $12,400 and in Russia it’s just over $10,000.
People First comment: If ever there was a political imperative then surely the wealth of the nation must be at the top of the list. The irony is that one of Europe’s most wealthy citizens is Ukrainian but it would take the average citizen 4.1 million years to reach that level of wealth, such is in inequality of the Ukrainian system. Unfortunately many Ukrainians are happy with what little they have as they do not realize just how far behind European standards the nation has slipped.
Summary
The above is a litany of government failure and irresponsibility that goes back decades. It doesn’t have to be like this. Ukraine is a nation that has more natural wealth than any other in Europe and the finest of work forces. There are success stories but these are drowned out by negatives that need not happen. It was to be expected that when Ukraine became an independent democracy, virtually overnight, that mistakes would be made. But many of these mistakes were never corrected. All the branches of power must take their full share of the responsibility and work to change these dismal statistics. This should be made a national priority. To best facilitate the systemic reforms needed, Ukraine should re-embrace the basic principles of democracy within the primacy of the rule of law where the authorities put people first.
