Committees have been divided

Before starting winter holidays, the Verkhovna Rada has voted on the parliamentary committees of the Seventh Convocation. Some certainty concerning the committees was expected last week, but the power and the opposition failed to divide the posts, let alone the fact that the agreements needed to be made among the representatives of Fatherland, UDAR, and Freedom, on the one hand, and the Party of Regions and Communist Party, on the other hand. Although the Regionnaires have made a witty move by including the Communists in the opposition in order to win more committees, but it was no success especially after the Reds voted in a well-disciplined manner for appointing Azarov the prime minister. So, the results are as follows: the Party of Regions has got 13 committees, Fatherland – 9, UDAR – 3, Freedom – 1, KPU – 2 committees and 1 commission, and Volodymyr Lytvyn, who is beyond factions, has got one committee. So, the opposition has 13 committees, and the power – 16 committees and one commission.

Without going into detail, I will mention only several expressive moments. It is more likely that those were not governmental posts which dominated in the negotiations, but the fact who wins the most lucrative positions in the Verkhovna Rada with the most control. The Party of Regions has received the main committees and especially the Committee for Budget (headed by Yevhen Heller), the Committee for Regulations (Volodymyr Makeienko), Committee for Transport and Communications (Borys Kolesnikov), Committee for Legal Policy (Valerii Pysarenko), Committee for Tax and Customs Policy (Vitalii Khomutynnyk), etc. Communists took the Committee for Agrarian Policy and Land Relations (Hryhorii Kaletnyk). Is this because they know what to do with land in Ukraine? Besides, the Commission for Privatization will be headed by Communist Yevhen Marmazov – probably to prevent the “sharks of capitalism” from getting it.

The only committee where the opposition enjoys the majority is the Committee for Freedom of Speech and Information, which is headed by Fatherland’s Mykola Tomenko. Fatherland has also won some other “tasty” committees, like the Committee for Fuel and Energy Complex (Mykola Martynenko), Committee for Economic Policy (Andrii Ivanychuk). The Committee for European Integration has traditionally been given to the opposition (Hryhorii Nemyria). A kind of achievement for UDAR is winning the Committee for Fighting Organized Crime and Corruption, which will be headed by Viktor Chumak. Its second committee is the Committee for Human Rights, the Rights of National Minorities, and International Relations (Valerii Patskan). Freedom has only got the Committee for Ecological Policy (Iryna Sekh), but as we know this party also has got the post of the deputy speaker of the Parliament.

Will the Parliament be more efficient after the committees were divided? It hardly will. We can see that under the conditions of economic crisis the MPs have agreed to increase the number of the committees (plus four). And all factions, 339 MPs, have voted for this. In this situation the position of the Party of Regions which needed to satisfy everyone willing and pay the debts for forming the majority is even more understandable. Incidentally, they have thanked Lytvyn for good job by giving him the position of the head of the Committee for National Security and Defense. Like one of our experts joked, remembering Gongadze’s case, Lytvyn now practically heads the committee for his own security. However, the opposition’s stand is not very clear, as after making statements about the lack of democracy in Ukraine and promises to refuse from the mandates, it still began the game with the power and traded in the committees, having agreed to increase their number. Will under these circumstances the opposition be able to control the government (in his recent speech in parliament the UDAR leader Vitalii Klitschko among other things stated that the “opposition would control the government, checking its every decision for corruption and harm to the national interests”)? Finally, all the MPs decided to go on long vacations (they will resume their work on January 10). Under conditions of the crisis, they say.

COMMENTARIES

Serhii TERIOKHIN, Ukrainian MP (Fatherland), former minister of economy:

“I see the violation in the fact that the head of the committee controls the secretariat of the committee, because the secretariat belongs to the entire Verkhovna Rada, not single factions. The most important thing is that the committee’s head defines the list of the questions which are the committee’s competence. I.e., there is a widespread practice when heads of committees do not even register the draft laws submitted by the MPs. Supposedly, it will look as if the opposition MPs did not submit their alternatives while one or another draft law is approved.

“An interesting situation is with the two committees headed by the members of Fatherland, the Committee for Economic Policy (Andrii Ivanchuk) and Committee for Entrepreneurship, Regulatory and Anti-Monopoly Policy (Oleksandra Kuzhel). Practically these functions have been performed by one committee, and now they have been divided to give to the opposition more positions in less important places. However, the Party of Regions has retained such an important committee as Budget Committee (headed by Regionnaire Yevhen Heller). This is an important committee which controls efficiency of allotting the costs of the taxpayers. It also has such an attractive function as monthly control of whether the state budget is properly fulfilled. So, for example, no matter what nature protection strategy is invented in the Committee for Ecological Policy (Iryna Sekh, Svoboda), without a decision of the budget committee not a penny will be allotted for these projects.

“Besides, the opposition should have gotten the Regulation Committee. It could have partially protected the representatives of the opposition from persecutions.”

Anton FILIPENKO, president of the Ukrainian Association of International Economists:

“The oppositionists who have headed the committees of the economic bloc are very experienced. And in my opinion they stand all chances to have an influence on shaping the Ukrainian economy. Cooperation with the opposition is important for the government which puts every effort in order to keep the economy and boost GDP at least up to 3.6 percent from the predicted 0.5 percent. Besides, a huge positive thing is that Oleksandra Kuzhel is now the head of the Committee for Entrepreneurship, Regulatory, and Anti-Monopoly Policy. I think she will succeed in strengthening this sphere. She could help to relieve the pressure on the small and medium business, make the access to credit resources easier. If the situation in this branch is reversed, it will probably be able to help boost the economy. All the more so the new VR speaker tries to be tolerant and take everyone’s interests into account. Such economic steps will most likely be advantageous both for the opposition which needs to fulfill the promises it gave to the voters, and for the power which has to save the economy.”