In Ukraine there is an interesting paradox situation when bribery among officials is tightly connected with official “bribery” of governmental bodies in the form of getting charitable contributions for their special funds. It’s also interesting that the sum of received bribes of officials are included in their income and is taxed by the rate of 13% according to the law about taxing citizen’s income. While “bribes” of governmental bodies are not taxed and their use is usually not controlled because these are not costs of the state budget.

Thus, a usual scheme has been established when governmental bodies for doing or not doing one or another action within their competence recommend making a charitable contribution at the account of its special fund.

It’s also interesting that neither the Control-auditing department, nor the Counting chamber of Ukraine checks the way these costs are spent, since these costs formally don’t belong to the costs of the state budget of Ukraine – so the law doesn’t regulate their use, and hence there is no responsibility for their inappropriate use.

But the Counting chamber determined the amount of these costs and it turned out that such contributions sometimes constitute a considerable part of the total amount of financing this body from the budget.

For example, according to conclusions of the Counting chamber of Ukraine after the examination of fulfilling the state budget in 2004, on the accounts of ministries, departments, subordinated bodies, and also established by them different field “charitable funds” annually in the form of “charitable contributions”, gifts, grants, irrevocable financial aid considerable sums of money and material values are received:

according to the report of the State treasury, for 2004 the Ministry of internal affairs had the most part of such expenses – 229.4 million hryvnias; the Ministry of education and science – 100.9 million hryvnias; the Ministry of health – 56.8 million hryvnias; the Academy of medical sciences – 49.2 million hryvnias; the State department of executing punishments – 27.6 million hryvnias.

Expenses of some major managers of budget costs for such contributions constituted 42-98% of approved for them amounts of a special fund. Thus, the State judicial administration in 2004 had expenses for the cost of grants, gifts and costs for executing some commissions of 8.5 million hryvnias, what constitutes 92.3% of expenses of the special fund, the General prosecution – 20.3 million hryvnias, or 64.3%; the Academy of medical sciences – 49.2 million hryvnias or 65.3%; the State customs service – 7.1 million hryvnias or 49.4%.

According to part 1, clause 130 of the Constitution of Ukraine, financing and appropriate conditions for functioning of courts are provided by the state. The list of authorities of local courts and courts of appeals, determined by clauses 22 and 26 of the Law of Ukraine dated February 7, 2002 No 3018-III “About judicial system of Ukraine” is exhaustive and doesn’t presuppose receiving help by courts and other organizations in any form, and also managing such help. However, violating the requirements of the acting legislation, general and specialized courts in 2004 received charitable help for the sum of 7.5 million hryvnias.

It is clear that the state budget approves unreal sums of expenses of governmental bodies. For example, courts are financed only approximately for 50% of their real need. However, at the same time, according to the Counting chamber, governmental bodies are systematically irrationally or illegally use even these state costs they are allotted.

For example, according to an examination of the Counting chamber, the system of using budget and material-technical resources introduced by the State department of executing punishments was uneconomic, running at a loss and obscure:

• The budget costs in the amount of 150.8 million hryvnias allotted for the development and improvement of the system, in 2004 were mainly spent for maintaining its functioning. Despite the deficiency of 5018 places in investigatory isolators, during 2004 out of 1250 places which must have been introduced no one actually was. The department inefficiently spent 9 million hryvnias of the budget costs. Particularly, the cost of an unfinished construction was written off for the sum of 3.8 million hryvnias, 4.6 million hryvnias were used for constructing protracted buildings, 0.1 million hryvnias – for paying salary to the staff of the weekly “Zakon i obovyazok”, 0.5 million hryvnias – for buying overpriced production through the state enterprise “Departamentservis”.

• As a result of the inefficient management of manufacturing enterprises of institutions of executing punishments are in unsatisfactory financial state. Measures on manufacture development, mastering new types of production, modernization of manufacture, watching the situation on the market of production made by enterprises for many years was accomplished in an inappropriate way. As a result of non-fulfilment by authorities of enterprises for more that 9 years of requirements of subpoint 7, point 1 of the resolution of the Cabinet of ministers of Ukraine dated 04.06.1994 No 352 regarding establishing new work places for involving every prisoner and providing him with a job sufficient for maintaining them for the money they earn, only in 2004 at least 233 million hryvnias were not received by the special fund.

• As a result of irrational use of available work resources over 3 thousand persons of ordinary and authorities’ personnel of the criminal-executive system served at enterprises which are not institutions for executing punishments. Their posts didn’t concern activity of bodies and institutions of executing punishments, so, they were to be staffed by civil persons. According the acting legislation these persons and members of their families were granted some privileges, including no fare in all kinds of city’s public transportation, 50% discount in paying for dwelling area, public utilities, fuel, etc. Maintaining at enterprises of the Department of persons of ordinary and authorities’ personnel lead to irrational use of budget costs through giving privileges to them, and also given free property for the sum of 164.2 thousand hryvnias and paid pensions for the sum of 277.4 thousand hryvnias.

Evidently, citizens make such charitable contributions for some particular reason, for some actions or inactivity of such bodies. This officially established system of the state’s bribery is inadmissible and must become the first step in struggling agaist corruption in the country.

Volodymyr Yavorsky

RUPOR