According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, an objective for each head of the company is to improve efficiency of the particular enterprise, to create jobs, to pay taxes and to boost state-owned asset value.

“I, as the Prime Minister, have demanded that the state companies cease to be a feeding trough for politicians and political forces”, he emphasized.

For this purpose the Government has introduced a market-based remuneration system for the employees of the state-owned companies.

He reminded that the position and policy of the Government is to completely change the executive staff and governance systems within these companies.

The Prime Minister reminded that the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a decision to launch an open and transparent tender to select CEOs of state-owned companies: “6 directors of state-owned companies have been appointed not by politicians but by an independent Nomination Committee. Another 12 directors of state-owned companies are either undergoing an appointment procedure or participating in the appropriate competition”.

The Head of Government stressed that many state-owned companies continue to use intermediaries and financial cushions in offshore zones, in which there sits hundreds of thousands of dollars that should be transferred to the state budget as taxes. These constitute part of the national wealth of the country but should not be part of the wealth of a political class trying to take control of the state-owned enterprises”.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk reminded he had commissioned a comprehensive audit of all major Ukrainian state-owned companies. 25 companies have already completed their checks, and these audit results were presented to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

“Following the audits the Cabinet of Ministers handed over all necessary documentation to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies to initiate appropriate criminal proceedings, part of which have already been initiated and are being investigated”, he stressed.

In particular, the Government transferred cases on Ukrhydroenergo, Ukrspyrt, Centrenergo, State Food and Grain Corporation of Ukraine, United Mining and Chemical Company and other state enterprises, in which facts of abuse were revealed.

Moreover, Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized the Government have also obliged all public companies to hold a transparent audit: “So far, only 6 companies have signed the relevant decisions. That is why the Government made all the rest conduct an independent public audit of the activities of their companies”.