We are building a “five-star” Ukraine

Our readers probably remember that this has been Viktor Yanukovych’s second visit to the city of Lviv over the past year. The first took place on May 27, 2010. “I brought here a great many people with big money. They are prepared to invest, but certain conditions need to be created,” said the president then, as he declared his intentions to make life for the residents of the Lviv and Ternopil oblasts easier. He also promised to arrive in Lviv in September 2011, to see the opening of the Euro-2012 stadium and “to kick the ball.”

During his business trip to Lviv on Monday, April 11, Yanukovych was shown the construction of the runway and the new terminal at the city’s airport. He also examined the construction site of the new Euro-2012 stadium, and held an enlarged session of the regional committee on economic reforms, and the development of sports and tourism infrastructure in the context of the implementation of the international project, “Olympic Hope 2022.”

Yanukovych noted that local go-vernment of Lviv oblast had already began to set tasks for him: what needs to be done and requiring as much money as possible. “But why are nearly 300 objects in Lviv oblast, for which money has already been allocated, unfinished? Tell me how much of the money stolen here, in Lviv oblast, can be returned,” he said addressing the Lviv oblast authorities. In doing so, he stressed that his remarks concerned the western region as a whole.

Yanukovych also emphasized that all criminal procedures, initiated on indictment for embezzlement of budget funds and subsequently closed, should be renewed: “I am not a supporter of sending people behind bars. But if someone thinks of getting away, we are going to find them: they must return the money stolen from the state. If they do, it is one thing; if they don’t, well, this is a horse of a different color.”

The president also thanked Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov for putting Ukraine back on the schedule for the timely preparation of the Euro-2012: “He saved our country’s good reputation.” Overall, the president believes that the successful preparation of Ukraine for the Euro-2012 and 2022 Olympics is a project of a future five-star Ukraine. Yet in the project not a single penny may be misused, he stressed.

COMMENTARY

Ihor HULYK, political expert:

“This visit of Yanukovych to Lviv clearly demonstrates that now he feels a lot more confident than a year ago. Mykhailo Tsymbaliuk, the governor of Lviv oblast, considers Yanukovych as the most generous of all presidents in what concerns Galicia. This is proved by Yanukovych’s promise to allot 13 million hryvnias for repairing roads in Lviv, upon request from the city’s mayor.

“As far as the president’s remarks about corruption in Lviv oblast go, they are apparently grounded on the story with judge Zvarych, who swore he had earned quite a fortune by just receiving some carolers in his office, and also in the most recent customs scandal [a series of mutual accusations of bribery between the former and present heads of customs service, police, and oblast le-gislators. – Ed.], which just now broke out in Lviv oblast. This turns Lviv oblast, a border region, into a preserve of corruption and abuse of power.

“I don’t think that these statements are going to result in cadre rotations or severe persecutions. Yanukovych is demonstrating his ‘principled approach’ in order to show consistency in fighting corruption — the more so that these statements were made immediately after parliament had passed the Law ‘On the Principles of Fighting Corruption.’ The president has much to gain from tightening the screws in western Ukraine, since this is the base of his major political opponents.”