Editor's Note: The Kyiv Post will be tracking the progress made by Ukraine's post-EuroMaidan Revolution leaders in making deep structural changes in the public interest. The Reform Watch project is supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. Content is independent of the financial donor.
1. Security & Defense
President Petro Poroshenko signed a law that introduces financial aid in case of death or injury for on-duty police officers. Family members will be receiving Hr 588,000 in case of death and from Hr 23,520 to Hr 294,000 if injured.
2.Energy
As Ukraine increased imports of gas from the European Union, the nation saved $200,000 in three months, Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said. Some 1.3 billion euros came in investment during the same period of time.
3. Rule of law
Four candidates were short-listed to compete for the position of the chief of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau – Viktor Chumak, lawmaker of President Petro Poroshenko’s bloc; Artem Sytnyk, who used to work as investigator in Prosecutor’s Office in Kirovohrad and Kyiv Oblast; Yakiv Varychev, lawyer and former investigator; and Mykola Siryi, lawyer. Meanwhile, lawmakers of Poroshenko’s bloc and the People’s Front party of Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk registered a draft law that cancels the age limit for the head of the bureau which is currently 65. Anti-Corruption Action center slammed this initiative as the one that aims to disrupt current recruitment process. If the bill is approved, selection process can start over again. Three judges of the infamous Kyiv Pechersk Court — Oksana Tsarevych, Viktor Kytsyuk and Serhiy Vovk — were suspended for two months after parliament stripped them of immunity following criminal investigations launched against them for unlawful rulings.
4.Public Administration
Poroshenko signed a law that introduces criminal responsibility for insolvency of banks. Major shareholders and final beneficiaries will be facing up to five years in jail for driving bank to bankruptcy and all the information about them will be made public. Poroshenko also initiated a draft law on petitions that will allow citizens to address authorities by email and introduce section for petitions on presidential website. Economy ministry got a new head of its public procurement department – Oleksandr Starodubtsev, known for his active participation in the pilto project of electronic procurement system which was launched at the end of 2014. The Finance Ministry also got new appointees – Olena Makeyeva from Aksyonov & Partners audit firm will be in charge of revenue collecting, Oksana Makarova of ITT investment group will manage ministries personell, ex-economy minister Roman Kachur and Artem Shevalyov of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development who will take care of social issues and European integration and financial policy department, respectively.
5. Land
By government resolution, the procedure for sanitary inspections, obligatory for grain exporters, will be shorter. It will take 24 hours instead of five days and save up Hr 1 million for agriculture companies which used to spend $0.5 per ton of grain for every 24 hours of down time.
