29.03.2024

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News of Ukraine for 4 March 2015

00:27, 06.03.2015
1. The government of Ukraine (together with the IMF) are dreamers. They dont say how theyre going to live through this year but theyre sure that there will be the 4% growth. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine forecasts the 4% growth of the GDP of Ukraine in the medium term in 2016-2018. It is stated in the economic and financial policy memorandum signed by the government and the IMF. In 2016-2018 as the economic and bank stability is getting restored and the reforms are getting implemented, there is expected a renewal and gradual build-up of the economic growth the rates of which in the medium term will reach 4%,says the document. According to the memorandum, the unsolved conflict in the East of Ukraine makes its contribution into the uncertainty of the forecast herewith the economic activity can reach its lowest level in the middle of 2015. But as our policy is gaining momentum, the trust is being restored and restoration works are starting, the decline in economic activity is likely to pass its lowest level, which will lead to inhibition of the fall to the level of 5.5% in 2015,says the document.
Commentary. Of course, after the fall in 2015, though not that of 5.5% but more, the growth is possible. Perhaps, it’s not going to happen in 2015 but one day the GDP will sure start growing and maybe even by 4%.
Once again about the regulation N160 of the National Bank of Ukraine of 3 March. Concerning the population. From now on they will be able to receive money transfers only in the national currency. According to the regulation N160 of the National Bank of Ukraine, the NBU prohibited cashing a bank card funds in hard currency. Cash withdrawal within Ukraine by electronic means of payment issued by both residents and non-residents is to be carried out solely in UAH,says the regulation. It should be noted that the regulation N160 will act from 4 March to 3 June 2015.
Commentary. It means that you can forget about currency transfers. The currency will serve banks meeting demands of their clients (for this the same regulation introduces the manual control over all currency flows). So, all earnings of gasterbaiters will support the national currency and their families will receive their transfers in it. Naturally, at the official rate. It looks like double cheating.
The day before Kikhtenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, threatened his subordinates with a shoulder strap. The press service of the Donetsk Regional State Administration reports that Alexander Kikhtenko, the Chairman of the State Administration, warned heads of cities and regions that he would send them to the frontline if the mobilisation plan wasnt carried out on the territory under their control, regarding to both people and vehicles. Despite the fact that our military conscription offices are staffed only by 10% they have already carried out 44% of the plan and called up 347 persons. This is about the same rate as in Kharkov, Kherson and Odessa regions,said the Head of the region. However, according to the governor, the rate could have been better if the local authorities helped the military carry out the mobilisation more actively.
Commentary. By the way, literally the day before the Defence Ministry reported about the first stage (?) of the mobilisation plan carried out by 90%. Wait a moment. The regions mentioned by Kikhtenko (with the Donetsk region as well as the Luhansk region where the same problem exists) make about 22% of the population of the rest of Ukraine. If the rates of carrying out the mobilisation plan in the Donetsk region are 44% and they aren’t worse than in the others, so in the mentioned regions they aren’t higher than 44%; actually they’re quite likely to be lower. Then, let’s presume that the rest of Ukraine has carried out the plan by 100%. Having made a proportion we can calculate that even in this case the plan can be carried out by only 87.6%. I’m not trying to find faults with anybody but in the other regions of Ukraine the plan isn’t carried out by 100% and in the Kharkov region it’s less than 44%. And it’s not even the whole plan but just the first(?) part of it. So, the conclusion is that they’re lying. I can’t tell you by how much but they definitely are. On the other hand, I would gladly support the idea of sending the heads of the administrations to the frontline.
Starting on 16 March Ukraine wants to close more than 100 checkpoints on the border with Russia. Evgheny Perebiynis, the speaker of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine, stated at a briefing broadcast by the TV channel 112 Ukraine that on the border of Ukraine with Russia there wouldnt work more than 100 small checkpoints. If its about small checkpoints which will not function from now on and at which citizens of the RF wont be able to cross the border, in the Annex to this Agreement there is a list of them. Therere quite many of them in this list, more than a hundred, I believe,he said. Perebiynis reminded that both Ukraine and Russia had a right, in case of emergency, to suspend the Agreement on the procedure of crossing the border by residents of border areas. Its about the Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the government of the RF, signed on 18 October 2011, on the procedure of crossing Ukrainian-Russian border by residents of border areas of Ukraine and the RF, i.e. about so called local border traffic. According to the the Article 7 of this Agreement, Ukraine, as well as Russia, has a right of suspending this Agreement due to emergencies or security risks, which Ukraine has used,added the speaker.
Commentary. Dividing Ukraine and Russia (their peoples) by all available means isn’t only a dream of the junta but also that of the USA and… (someone else). Besides, it’s also about the budget losses. Many residents of Kharkov go to the Belgorod region to fill up a tank with fuel because it’s much cheaper there. So, prohibiting it means excises, VAT and, consequently, budget revenues.
Roads. Its a lie that there arent any of them anymore. They still exist but 90% of them require major repairs or reconstruction. More than 150 thousand km out of 170 thousand km of Road PSTN of Ukraine are reported to require major repairs and maintenance or reconstruction. Annually Ukraine needs 60 billion UAH to repair roads. According to the press service of the Department of Road Development Autodor, it was stated by Sergey Tsepelev, the Director of the institution. For the last 10 years the critic level of underfunding has resulted in the fact that, to preserve the existing road network, we need 565 billion UAH right now and then 50-60 billion UAH annually,said Tsepelev. According to him, under the current regulations and standards every year its necessary to perform works of maintenance and major repairs on 5 thousand km of roads of national significance and 36 thousand km of roads of local significance wherein the pace of such works still remains unsatisfactory. In particular, more than 150 thousand km out of 170 thousand km of Road PSTN of Ukraine are reported to require major repairs and maintenance or reconstruction.
Commentary. Thus, they need 60 billion UAH to, at least, patch up roads somehow. The major repairs are out of question altogether. For that they would need to use up ALL the budget of Ukraine. But something tells me that they won’t find this 60 billion UAH this year. Even if they did, it wouldn’t be the 60 billion UAH that need right now and it wouldn’t do. It would be just great if this money was enough to patch up some holes on roads in the regional centres. I’d like to remind you that even in “prosperous” 2014 only 66% of road holes were patched up in Ukraine.  

Article by Yurasumy