The era of "quick fixes" is over: real reforms require time and funding.

The days of the "office of simple and quick solutions" are long gone.

In general, it was never the right time, but everyone wanted to play such a game. To get quick results.

However, tactics are good, but as everyone knows, a strategy is needed. Strategy is about systemic change.

To get results from changes and reforms, they need to be started today, not by dragging the cat by the tail.

But reforms require funding.

Customs are often talked about. But for this, you need to:

- Scanners are money.

- scales are money

- New IT solutions mean money.

- more professional and honest people – and this means money (because if you pass the certification, you get a higher salary; this motivation generally works).

Of course, all of this requires legislative and regulatory changes. Civil servants can handle this with the support of reform support groups. But here we come back to motivation – is our civil service highly motivated? Not always, and not very much.

So, when it comes to customs reform, it's not enough to just provide for a transparent competition for the head of customs; they need to be given a mandate for change, time to implement it, the right to change business processes, and also funding for at least the things mentioned above.

And it is precisely additional funding for reforms – both here and in other areas – that is lacking in the budget: it is not a priority.

In general, there is no money in the budget for the further development of the Unified State Electronic System in the Field of Construction, but the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has made an important decision to change the approaches to pricing in construction. It is necessary to launch the Codifier of Building Materials and the Register of Prices for Building Materials.

Currently, most digitalization efforts are donor-funded, which is lacking because USAID, which actively funded GovTech before its closure, is no longer involved.

Here's what I'm thinking: maybe it would be better to find money in the budget for digitalization and the implementation of reforms, rather than for a hypothetical national cashback, winter support, and so on.

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