The Cabinet of Ministers Becomes Champion

Last Wednesday, Prime Minister Yanukovych presented the action plan of his government to the ministers, governors, parliament speaker, and people’s deputies. He noted that it is based on President Leonid Kuchma’s message to the Verkhovna Rada, the European Choice. On the eve of the presentation, Minister for Economy and European Integration, Valery Khoroshkovsky, gave a brief account of the program. In his words, the government’s priorities regarding economic development will be “liquidating pay arrears in the budget sphere and social payments and also the mutual debts of enterprises.” He also mentioned restricting tax privileges and the simultaneous reduction of tax pressure on the economy and ordinary people. In Mr. Khoroshkovsky’s words, entering the WTO is also among the government’s core goals.

At the Cabinet of Ministers’ meeting, Prime Minister Yanukovych said that the government’s major goal is to create the necessary conditions for “every able-bodied citizen to obtain legal and decent payment for his work.” In the premier’s words, President Kuchma demanded that the government solve a complex of problems, which will make it possible to “really and in short terms change the situation in the country for the better, activate the reform process, secure higher economic growth rates, and increase living standards.” Yanukovych assured the audience that the government will carry out the President’s order and promised that most attention will be paid to support the unprotected strata: the handicapped, pensioners, families with low incomes, children, etc., and also to create conditions to increase the hryvnia’s purchasing power. He proclaimed his intention to secure safe protection of private property rights, investors, and creditors, and to solve the problem of reducing the tax pressure on enterprises and people’s incomes as early as in the first six months of 2003. In the premier’s words, the tax administration will “cooperate as with partners” with honest taxpayers, while those keeping to work “in the shadow” and take money out of Ukraine will be treated in a different manner. “There is no place for such operators and for their business in Ukraine,” Mr. Yanukovych said. He stated the government’s intention to secure conditions for public control over the budget expenses on all levels. “Officials squandering and embezzling public money should be purged from executive power. We must eradicate all opportunities for corruption and money laundering,” the head of the government demanded.