Klaus BrЯmmer, counselor at the German embassy in Ukraine, head of the economic consulting coordination bureau, told The Day 's correspondent that he would like the Ukrainians to heed more often the advice Germans are giving, the main idea of which is aid for the sake of self-help. The idea of help yourself seems to have become a new tactic for Germany, still interested in assisting Ukraine.
“The government of Germany has helped in the past few years to establish job-training centers in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Kremenchuk, Kryvy Rih, and Khorol. For example, a German-Ukrainian center with a training bakery was recently opened at vocational school No. 4 in Poltava, as was a training restaurant with a modern training kitchen and bar at the Kyiv Hotel Business College. Kaniv got a new training center for cabinetmakers, and Cherkasy a training trade center and bank,” Mr. BrЯmmer says. “We suppose that Ukraine and Germany will soon start building a construction center at Kyiv's University of Construction and Architecture, as well as a training hotel at the Kyiv Hotel Business College. It is planned to set up a textile workers' training center by 2000. All these centers are our investments in the future of Ukraine's youth and economy, and we hope that Germany will thus help Ukraine to develop small and medium scale enterprises.
“Technical assistance projects as part of the German government-run TRANSFORM program, for which almost DM160 million were allocated from 1992 to 1999, are primarily aimed at consulting for Ukraine's government, Parliament, and enterprises, as well as at upgrading the skill of employees at Ukrainian private firms, banks, and in the agrarian sector. The German government has opened, via the Restoration Credit Facility (KFW), two credit lines worth a total DM42 million. Loans are being given to Ukrainian enterprises via specially selected Ukrainian commercial banks. Since decisions on granting loans are made exclusively by Ukrainian banks, and they are responsible for their nonpayment, applications for loans should be submitted to these banks only.
“German economic experts give the government and Parliament only practical proposals in the area of macroeconomics and legal policy. But the implementation of these proposals is within the sole competence of public administration executives. But I wish sometimes your country heeded German advice better.
“Syllabi and curricula for the German-funded vocational training centers have been adapted to Ukrainian conditions by joint groups of experts. All Ukrainian-German vocational training centers are of a model nature. The Ukrainian side is to extend its experience at its own discretion. This goal has been achieved most successfully in respect to commercial training centers and training banks. On the pattern of Ukrainian- German model centers, purely Ukrainian job-training centers have been set up in many Ukrainian cities without German assistance. Thus the main principle of our work, help for the sake of self-help, has been put into practice. However, the process of establishing a large number of small and medium businesses, as the experience of Central and Eastern Europe shows, may take a long time because of your specific sociocultural heritage.
“Your country has great industrial potential, well-trained specialists, and excellent land for prosperous farming. If Ukraine manages to effectively utilize this potential, relying on economy-friendly public administration, your prospects for economic growth will be good. However, this should be preceded by wide ranging structural reforms in Ukraine, for example, de-monopolization and further denationalization of the economy and creation of the appropriate legal and economic conditions for private enterprise. In case Ukraine gains more trust as a place in which to invest, foreign and domestic investors will contribute their capital to the Ukrainian economy, further strengthening the existing businesses and jobs as well as creating new ones. But the moment of economic takeoff will depend decisively on those who make decisions in the sphere of economic policy.”






