In Ukraine, draft law No. 12245 has gained popularity, which provides for changing the status of the State Audit Service of Ukraine (State Audit Service) and granting the Cabinet of Ministers the right to independently determine the salaries of its employees. The draft law was adopted as a basis by the Verkhovna Rada in December 2024 and was intended to update the provisions of the Budget Code to fulfill Ukraine's obligations to international partners. However, in the process of preparing for the second reading, amendments were made to it, which caused widespread discussion among experts and the public.
The amendments concerning the State Audit Service provide for granting it a special status, introducing new ranks for civil servants, and also allow the Cabinet of Ministers to independently determine the size of the salaries of employees of this body. However, these changes have drawn criticism, in particular from the people's deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak ("Holos"), who noted that such amendments are unconstructive and ill-conceived. He emphasized that an increase in salaries is possible only after a real reform of the body.
“Left amendments to increase salaries for the State Audit Service are being dragged through a normal budget bill. In addition to salary increases + special status + special rank,” Zheleznyak noted.
The deputy also supported the position of the anti-corruption organization Transparency International Ukraine, which called on deputies to reject these amendments due to their fragmentation and lack of a systematic approach to reform. According to Zheleznyak, it is important to first resolve the problem of duplication of functions between the State Audit Service and the Accounting Chamber, which became especially relevant after the adoption of the law that expanded the powers of the Accounting Chamber to audit local budgets.
Zheleznyak emphasized that the next stage should include competitions for positions in the updated State Audit Service, re-certification of current employees, and implementation of modern control methods. Only after that can we talk about raising salaries and establishing special ranks.
