Vladimir Zelensky issued a decree on combating corruption and other offenses when establishing disability for officials.
The authorities responded to a scandalous corruption investigation involving employees of the MSEC (Medical and Social Expert Commission) in the Khmelnitsky region. During the searches, almost $6 million in cash in various currencies, several fake medical documents, and a list of evaders with names and false diagnoses were found in the local head of MSEC Tatyana Krupa. Later it turned out that 49 prosecutors of the Khmelnytsky region received disabilities. As a result, the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky convened a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, where they considered the situation at MSEC and abuses by officials of various government bodies that resulting in disability.
Fake disabilities
During the meeting, SBU Chairman Vasily Malyuk and Internal Affairs Minister Igor Klimenko reported on inspections and investigations of criminal offenses in this area. They noted that many violations and wrongful disabilities among officials were revealed.
“There are hundreds of cases of clearly unreasonable disabilities in customs officials, tax officials, in the Pension Fund system, and in local administrations. All of this must be dealt with carefully and immediately. The MSEC system should be abolished,” said President Zelensky.
Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin said he filed for dismissal. Kostin noted that he supports the position of the president who should take political responsibility regarding the situation at MSEC.
“I am grateful to the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine for their trust. But in this situation, I think it is right to announce my dismissal from the position of prosecutor general,” he said.
Digitization of MSEC
According to the presidential order, within one month the Office of the Prosecutor General, the SBU, the SBI, the National Police, and the NABU must report to officials about the measures taken to identify violations of disability determination. After such evaluations, these bodies must make personnel decisions.
At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was instructed to ensure:
– implementation of the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on military medical examination of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
– creation of working groups to verify the decisions of medical and social expert commissions to determine the disability of officials;
– within three months, make a report on the results of MSEC inspections;
– preparation of a plan for the implementation of digitalization of all stages of MSEC with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Digital Development;
– conducting, together with the Pension Fund, State Bureau of Investigation, SBU and National Police, an audit of the accrual of pension payments to officials.
It is recommended that the Verkhovna Rada, together with the Ministry of Health, develop within a month a bill on the reform of the system of medical and social examination, which provides, in particular, for the liquidation of medical and social commissions of expert from December 31, 2024 .
The decree also recommends that the NAPC review and update by November 30 of this year the study of the Top 10 corruption risks of medical and social examination for determining disability.
According to Prime Minister Denis Shmygal, instead of MSEC, a digital, transparent, European model will be introduced.
He also ordered the Minister of Health, Viktor Lyashko, no later than November 1 to submit all necessary regulatory documents and bills for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers to complete the MSEC reform and start the introducing a new European model.
The layoffs have begun
Shmygal also added that the leadership of the Central Medical and Social Expert Commission has been dismissed, as well as the heads of relevant departments of the Ministry of Health responsible for coordinating MSEC activities.
“At the end of this week, we will adopt a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which will liquidate the central MSEC. We have prepared for this by strengthening the material and technical base of the subordinate institute in the city of Dnepr, “said Minister of Health Viktor Lyashko.
Answering the question if he thinks he is politically responsible for the scandals in the commissions, the minister said he is “not in the MSEC vertical.”
Lyashko said that he does not appoint or dismiss the heads of the commission, and the Ministry of Health is only a regulator.
“I am appointing and dismissing the head of the Central Medical and Sanitary Commission, who was dismissed yesterday by my order,” he said.
Source: korrespondent
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