It's been a year since Arseniy Yatsenyuk became prime minister of Ukraine.
In a summarizing interview to representatives of Ukrainian TV stations on Feb. 27, Yatsenyuk reiterated his commitment to deep and structural changes in public administration, energy sector,and other spheres. He said he hoped the economic growth will resume in 2016.
“That was 365 days, but for myself and the country it was a whole epoch,” Yatsenyuk said. “For me it was like a single day with unbelievable hardships, challenges, with the start of war against Ukraine.” Yatsenyuk said. “Year of 2015 is a year of stabilization, and in 2016 positive economic and social dynamics can start,” he said.
According to Yatsenyuk, in the next four years Ukraine eyes financial aid of $25 billion, incuding a $17.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, and $7.5 billion from G7 countries and other international lenders. It is meant to help Ukraine cope with its international debt obligations of some $11 billion in 2015 and recover currency reserves which went down to $6.4 billion in January.
But to get the loan from the IMF Ukraine has to amend the budget for 2015. The government suggested the currency rate of Hr 21.7 for a dollar, which has drawn a lot of criticism as the rate had already dropped to Hr 28. Yatsenyuk said that suggested scenario was “too optimistic” and it will be revised.
At the same time, Yatsenyuk said that the currency rate is much influenced by the panic and currency speculations. He said that some $52 billion of cash was bought and sold in Ukraine over the last ten months, according to statistics.
When asked about possible dismissal of the head of the National Bank Valeria Gontareva who has been criticized for her failure to stabilize the currency rate, Yatsenyuk said that “it is not about the names but about restoring trust to the National Bank.”
As for the $3.5 billion in investment that Ukraine will get in 2015 as loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and European Investment Bank, Yatsenyuk said it will be spent for modernization of country’s gas transport system, construction of roads and various infrastructure projects.
Yatsenyuk mentioned Russia’s war against Ukraine that led to massive damage to infrastructure. Only on the territories that are now controlled by Ukraine, the damage is $1.5 billion, according to the evaluation of Ukrainian government.
In his year as a prime minister, Yatsenyuk also had to find help for at least 1.1 million internally displaced residents. Some 30,000 of them have registered at a state employment service to look for a job and receive Hr 884 a month from the state. There is no opportunity to increase the aid right now, according to Yatsenyuk. The government plans to conduct inventory of land and property in villages and is considering 30-year mortgage loans to provide internally displaced residents with housing.
Yatsenyuk boasted that Ukraine has decreased its dependence from Russian gas and increased gas imports from the European Union – from five percent in 2013 to 67 percent or more than five billion of cubic meters, according to estimates in 2014.
The state aparatus was cut by 25,000 workers in 2014 and will be cut by 50,000 in 2015, Yatsenyuk said. Some 26 regulatory bodies were liquidated out of 52 that existed before, he said and the number of taxes cut from 22 to 11.
“These reforms are not effective for the government I lead for one reason – the (results) require time. Next government and next prime minister will win from these reforms,” he said. “After my tenure the chances to keep my political ranking (high) are very, very low. But this is my choice and I realize the consequences.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Anastasia Forina can be reached at [email protected].
