With New Minister, Cutoffs Continue

As became known, the apartment maintenance unit's debt for electric power is Hr 1,125,000. The AMU puts the blame on its debtors: the bills are not paid both by natural and legal persons. Those, in their turn, say that they do not receive wages and pensions. "It's the government getting to grips with the debtors so zealously. Because of harassed by guys from nuclear power plants, and by the miners as well,"  Valery Ivakha, Oblenerho's Chief Engineer explained to The Day. And Rakovo district,  continued Ivakha,  is the first but far not the last place cut off from power supply for debts".

Let us recall that last February Leonid Kuchma fired Power Engineering Minister Oleksiy Sheberstov, allegedly for de-energizing villages.

INCIDENTALLY

Last Tuesday, ten Melitopol machine building plants employing 22,000 workers came to a standstill. The enterprises are lacking the funds required to pay for 50% of electricity consumed according to the latest government's decision. This will entail an automatic suspension of allocations into the state budget and a further increase in arrears of wages and salaries. The Board of Melitopol Directors sent a telegram to the President and the Cabinet asking the government to suspend the decision and keep the payment procedure unchanged for a three month period, The Day's  Viktor PUZHAICHEREDA reports.