In 2020-2021 alone, the economic and anti-corruption impact of providing online services is more than UAH 16.3 billion. The anti-corruption and economic potential impact of two years of digitization is UAH 48 billion.

How does digitization kill corruption?

In fact, the Ministry of Statistics is also an anti-corruption agency. After all, automated services, in which the role of the official and human factor is minimal, make it possible to get rid of corruption. While digitalization saves money for the state, it also changes people’s culture and eliminates everyday corruption from life. To tens of thousands to clean a car from chocolate conditional for sick leave.

We already have a fundamental case – the digital transformation of the construction industry. One of the most complex and corrupt industries in Ukraine, where corruption schemes and intrigues have reached cosmic proportions. After all, the registration of the State Architectural and Building Supervision (DHABI) was in the hands of third parties abroad, and Ukrainians had to pay bribes for entering data on each object into it.

But in 2021, we launched a new state-owned construction registry and a new Unified Government Electronic System in the field of construction. In 2022 alone, such digitization has resulted in 1.5 billion hryvnia anti-corruption impact and 9.6 billion hryvnia savings. Ukrainians can get 14 construction services online: from a construction start permit to a plant commissioning certificate. Without queues, without documents and most importantly without bribes.

Another situation is electronic sick leave. In an average year, about 5.5 million Ukrainians take sick leave and receive payments of UAH 18 billion. Digital sick leave can only be issued by a doctor, so it is impossible to take it “backwards” in the system. All payments are targeted and can always be tracked and checked to see how effective they are.

Physicians and patients, who submitted 10 million e-disease scores during the year the service was launched, quickly adapted to incapacity e-mails despite all prejudices. Firstly, they have significantly facilitated the life of doctors and patients, secondly, they save the state every year 4 billion hryvnia.

And this is only part of a large-scale digital reform, which has already proven that the more services are transferred online, the more transparent the system will become. We’ve managed to lay the foundation for a digital state that helps launch new services or make them fully available during testing almost every week.

We have created a digital map of the reforms, which are the main projects we will focus on in the next six months. And each will have a strong anti-corruption impact. It is important for us to remain transparent in the projects we initiate. This affects the brand of our country and the attractiveness of new sources.

Reconstruction

This is one of Ukraine’s priorities. Restructuring should be transparent and open to citizens. Therefore, it is necessary to digitize the whole process. Last year, we helped the Department of Reconstruction create a Damaged and Destroyed Property Register. The information stored in it will help draw up an effective recovery plan and compensate the Ukrainians damaged by the war.

In the future, an additional analytical system will also be created to ensure the transparency of the process. So that both Ukrainians and international partners to help Ukraine rebuild see how funds are distributed and exactly what they are spent on.

We launched the isRecovery in Action service together with the Ministry of Reconstruction and our partners so that Ukrainians can repair their homes and return to their homes.

Vehicle customs clearance in Diya. We have ambitious plans to fight corruption in the customs field. One of the projects we continue to work on is vehicle customs clearance in Diya. Currently, the amount of corruption in the customs administration alone is between 50 and 150 million dollars per year in the customs clearance of cars. Thanks to digitalization, we minimize the human factor and eliminate the possibility of manipulating the vehicle price. To this end, we present a new formula for calculating customs payments, which will consist only of stable indicators that do not affect anyone. So, no plots and no bribes.

e-private consumption There is currently a shadow market for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products in Ukraine. Every five packs of cigarettes and every three bottles of alcohol are sold illegally. That’s why people buy fake and counterfeit products. And the country is losing more than 30 billion UAH of state budget revenue every year.

Together with our partners we are preparing a revolutionary solution – all transport, storage and sales of each unit of the specified products will be recorded in the electronic system. And a two-dimensional DataMatrix code will be applied to each product, and the necessary information about the product can be accessed by scanning it through Diya. The introduction of the electronic system will reduce the volume of the illicit market for these products and increase the revenue from the payment of SCT to the budget by 15%.

Automation of services for seafarers. Another important project we are working on with the Ministry of Reconstruction and the Marine and Inland Water Transport and Maritime State Service of Ukraine. Registration of sailors’ documents used to be in private hands. And the level of corruption in this field has reached up to 150 million dollars a year. We are developing services for seafarers on Diya portal and are also working to improve the registry. This will make it possible to overcome corruption in this area and increase revenues to the state budget.

deregulation. We are also working on changes in the area of ​​licenses and permits. There are more than 1,000 of them today, and each is a barrier for businesses to access the market, extra time and communication with authorities. This means potential risks of corruption and manipulation. We want to remove half of them and make the rest digital and automated. This will be a breakthrough in facilitating work. You will no longer have to collect dozens of certificates, the receipt of which is often accompanied by a bribe.

Digitization of the social sphere. Last year, the Ministry of Digitization and its partners launched the global digital transformation of the social sphere and launched the first pilot of the Unified Information System of the Social Sphere. Ukraine spends more than 800 billion UAH each year on social services. We will make the globe transparent and addressable. This means a significant saving of 30 billion per year. And most importantly, by digitizing the space, we will be able to distribute funds fairly and help those who really need it.

Mikhail Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine

* The author’s perspective may not coincide with the agency’s position.