Stop bribery over health care and disabilities. A starting point to improving the health care system is to reform the “disability commissions,” which decide whether a person is physically able to work or not. These commissions frequently demand bribes from applicants to declare them invalids, a ruling that makes an applicant eligible for cash payments, subsidized utilities and transportation, as well as other perks. Members of these commissions are bribed so often that they are less likely to approve the applications of the truly disabled. (Approving help for those who actually are needy offers the officials no financial gain and would lower their overall bribery fee.) Here, too, a bribery hotline for the public—and a process of fast investigation by prosecutors—are the steps to quickly and dramatically slash a corrupt practice that blights many lives and Ukrainians sentiments about their government. Cut the perks for parliament. In a country where the members of the Verkhovna Rada come largely from the richest class of society, they (and their families) also receive free health care at the country’s finest medical facilities, and virtually free vacations at the nicest state-owned resorts. As the new Rada begins work with a bloc of reform-minded legislators, an interesting early test—with a real potential impact on public opinion toward the government—will be the parliament’s willingness to scrap these perks and pay their own way.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 11:22:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015