The second rise in tariffs for natural gas for the public and, consequently, for other public utilities, is a "'coup de grace " by the authorities on those citizens who survive the first increase, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) MP Oleh Liashko has said.
The lawmaker was commenting on the government’s intention to raise gas prices for the public by another 50% in April 2011, with a subsequent rise in prices every six months, which is detailed in a memorandum between the Cabinet of Ministers and the International Monetary Fund, the bloc’s press service reported.
"By giving Sevastopol away to Russia forever, [Ukrainian President] Viktor Yanukovych assured the country that only owing to this the prices of gas for Ukrainians will be kept unchanged, but in fact the price of natural gas for the public will double ahead of the anniversary of the shameful ‘Kharkiv agreements,’" Liashko said.
He said that the Regions Party, instead of fulfilling the promises made during elections to protect poor people and pensioners, had, quite to the contrary, increased prices for utilities and is increasing the retirement age and work experience, forgetting about "an improvement in life already today."
"The authorities have become detached from reality, despising the squalid conditions in which our compatriots live," Liashko said.
