The ex-premier of Georgia may become a business ombudsman in Ukraine

During the premiership under Nika Giluari, Georgia jumped in the rating Doing Business from 127th place to 8th place

Photo: Photothek via Getty Images

The Cabinet of Ministers, international financial organizations and lobbyists of business associations agreed on the format of the work of the business ombudsman in Ukraine. In the foreseeable future, a business ombudsman commission will be formed in the government and all three sides will become members of the advisory council pursuant to the draft resolutions and provisions that Capital has copies of.

Freedom to act

The first group of influence in the oversight committee will be represented by the minister of the Cabinet of Ministers, the second – by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the third – the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine (ACC) and the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (UUIE).

Each group will have one voice in the decision making process, even in the case of submission for approval of the government of candidates and two assistants of the ombudsman. Such a decision must be approved unanimously. Accordingly, any of the sides can block the appointment of the business ombudsman by refusing to support one or the other candidate.

The previous day Minister Ostap Semerak said the creation of a business ombudsman institution is heading to the finish line. “A legislative base is being formed that will regulate the powers and functions of this body”, the press service of the ministry cited. Foreign Relations Adviser of the EBRD Anton Usov told Capital that the bank has allocated all funds necessary to finance the structure of the ombudsman during the first stages. After that, financing may be divided between the sides.

Individuals that hold or held state positions in Ukraine over the past five years are not eligible for the position of business ombudsman or his/her assistants. “This is a collectively developed point of view. Experience shows that the fulfillment of such functions requires the appointment of a person with a solid international reputation. The caliber of such an individual should be such that any issues proposed by a business ombudsman should not raise any doubts. There should not even be any precepts to speak of bias of a business ombudsman,” Usov noted. In addition to that, requirement of the lack of civil service experience of an ombudsman was one of the recommendations of the Basel Institute of Management with practice of introducing similar structures in other countries.

Businesses are hoping that the new body will be able to defend the rights of a company in a court of law in cases of corporate conflicts. Participation of associations in the institution of a business ombudsman will give business confidence that the decisions are not made behind closed doors, Vice President of the UUIE Serhiy Prokhorov believes.

Authoritative figure

The official list of candidates for the post of ombudsman is not disclosed. “It is too early to speak about this as it is a matter of discussion,” said Usov. He further specified that official presentation may be made a few days after the “a number of technical issues are settled”. However, several days ago Vice Chairman of the Council of the Federation of Employers Dmytro Oliynyk wrote on his Facebook page that the federation supports ex-premier of Georgia Nikoloz Giluari from 2009-2012 for the post of business ombudsman.

39-year old Giluari headed the Georgian government under the presidency of Mikhail Saakashvili. Over the years he also held the post of minister of energy and minister of finance of Georgia. Since March 2014, he has worked as a senior advisor at McKinsey and Company. An interlocutor of the publication in the Cabinet of Ministers said Giluari visited Kyiv and held talks regarding his transfer to Ukraine. Over the years of his premiership in Georgia the institute of ombudsman was formed, which functions to this day. At the time, Georgia jumped from 127th place to 8th place in the rating Doing Business.