Oleksandr Korniyenko: Despite difficult war circumstances, civil servants continue to fulfill their mission – to serve Ukraine
23 June 2022, 19:21
Oleksandr Korniyenko, First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, addressed the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service Affairs on the occasion of the Civil Service Day in Ukraine. On behalf of the leadership of the Parliament and the deputies, he expressed gratitude and deep respect to all those who, despite any circumstances – military, economic, logistical – continue to work, perform tasks and remain faithful to the oath of a civil servant.
"In more than a hundred days of full-scale war, we have become convinced that civil servants are important people, an important family. These are specialists who work for the state, ensure its functioning and provide people with services even in challenging conditions," said Oleksandr Korniyenko, emphasizing:
"We have demonstrated this and, unfortunately, with sad components – we have lost many people – civil servants during these 120 days. There were missile attacks and shellings of government buildings where government agencies, regional state administrations, and district administrations were located.
Nevertheless, civil servants have shown that the oath of a civil servant is more than a line in the law and more than what we sign when we hold office. This is a way of life. This is service to one's country."
According to him, the people's deputies of Ukraine initiated a bill to commemorate civil servants who died or were injured during the war: “We will work to ensure that civil servants, who also fight at the front, but not always with weapons in hand, were noted and honored by the state on a par with soldiers, employees of the National Guard and National Police, SES, doctors, journalists.
The First Vice-Speaker of the Parliament noted that this year's Civil Servant's Day is special: On the one hand, we celebrate it amid tragic events in Ukraine. The war continues. On the other hand, we celebrate it amid optimistic hopes that will be in the news today – that Ukraine will receive the status of a candidate for EU membership.
In the context of Ukraine's European integration path, Oleksandr Korniyenko stressed the need for reforms in the country, following EU requirements, in particular, in the field of public administration. The next few months will be marked by discussions on how Ukraine will move forward in the reform of the civil service: public servants and experts. "We have to irreversibly reform the public service to make it better, even closer, even more accessible to citizens."