Ukraine's new prime minister, former National Bank of Ukraine chief Viktor Yushchenko, named two close associates from the NBU to help run his yet-to-be-formed Cabinet in what analysts say is a sign that he intends to streamline Ukraine's bloated government bureaucracy.
In another development, President Leonid Kuchma appointed Volodymyr Stelmakh, formerly Yushchenko's first deputy at the NBU, as the central bank's new chairman.
Yushchenko, a professional banker and active proponent of market reforms, named Oleh Rybachuk on Dec. 26 to run the prime minister's office. Rybachuk had previously headed the central bank's department of international relations.
On the same day, Yushchenko appointed his former chief advisor at the NBU, Viktor Lysytsky, to take charge of the Cabinet's secretariat.
Lysytsky expressed confidence that the Cabinet soon would shed its reputation for being grossly overstaffed and inefficient.
'I am absolutely certain that within the next several months Ukrainians will be able to say that the Cabinet is leading Ukraine, and is not merely another bureaucratic structure,' Lysytsky said.
President Kuchma already ordered a massive cut in state bureaucracy earlier this month at the urging of Western donors such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Those donors have long claimed that Ukraine's snarled web of more than 80 government agencies is a major roadblock to economic reform.
The Cabinet's secretariat, which runs the Cabinet's day-to-day affairs and is generally responsible for policy formulation and coordinating activities of Cabinet ministries, has long been considered the most inefficient cog in the government machine.
Lysytsky said it was early to forecast how or if the size and functions of the Cabinet personnel were going to change under his supervision.
'We are planning to sort out what is going on in the secretariat,' Lysytsky told daily newspaper Den on Dec. 28. 'We will meet and analyze the situation comprehensively, and will arrive at a rational basis [for taking further steps].'
Lysytsky replaces Anatoly Tolstoukhov, a close ally of Yushchenko's predecessor, Valery Pustovoitenko.
Kuchma nominated Yushchenko last week after parliament refused to reappoint Pustovoitenko, who had held the post for more than two years but recorded few noteworthy accomplishments.
Yushchenko's first steps in the new tenure are a strong indication that he is intent on carrying out his promise to create a pro-reform government and implement reforms that Ukraine's previous seven Cabinet failed to push through.
However, many political analysts say he faces an tougher task in trying to appoint close associates to be deputy prime ministers and Cabinet ministers.
Under the constitution, Yushchenko is to submit his nominees for Cabinet positions to Kuchma for approval.
Presidential chief-of-staff Volodymyr Lytvyn said Dec. 28 that some appointments were to be made Dec. 30, adding that formation of the Cabinet would continue until after the New Year.
But Kuchma's appointment of Stelhamkh to be NBU head is an indication that the president is favoring Yushchenko so far. Observers said Yushchenko had conditioned his nomination for prime minister on the 60-year-old Stelmakh becoming his successor.
Stelmakh, who must be confirmed by parliament to become legitimate National Bank chief, has had a long career in banking in the former Soviet Union and independent Ukraine. Most Ukrainian bankers have welcomed the appointment, saying it would prevent the NBU from any major shake-ups.
