Since Ukraine gained its Independence in 1991, populism was one of the major issues preventing it from achieving sustainable success. The President, the Parliament, and the Government were the sources of the problem. Has the situation changed since radical reforms course was adopted in 2014 and reinstated in 2016?
As Yanukovych’s kleptocratic regime has fallen in 2014, Ukrainians have joined their efforts to restart their country. Little by little more and more realized how corrupt government sucked the lifeblood out of the state budget; some estimate that the sum equivalent to the yearly budget was stolen. Many people became conscious of the need of shock reforms to avoid economy’s default. The national currency exchange rate has dropped 3 times; water, gas and heating tariffs went up. Yearly inflation exceeded 40% in 2015 according to the state statistics. At the same time salaries and state pensions were de facto frozen, increasing only 10-20% a year, which has led to the mass real household income decrease.
PM Yatseniuk left in 2016; PM Hroisman started to search for ways to improve the Government’s image the same day he took his post. It was vaguely implied that Yatseniuk’s Government was too harsh, and too focused on the macroeconomics forgetting about common people. Despite this, the state subsidies programme, that was meant to cover high utility bills, became less flexible in a try to cut the Government’s expenses: unemployed are believed to make 2 living wages per month ($120) – while millions employees are paid exactly 1 living wage per month ($60). Furthermore, new electrical power price regulations are too questionable. The income declaration became an object of attacks aimed at levelling its importance; officials proposed to make everybody file a zero assets declaration – only to legalize their illegal property.
In September 2016 a 2017 state budget draft was submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. “Defense and security” get 5% of GDP, Ministry of Internal Affairs is to receive 45 bln UAH. The most striking is the clear introduction of double standards and division of the society into castes: young teachers are paid today 1,943 UAH per month ($74), $60 after taxes. Government plans to increase their salary by raising their salary category, which can make it $100 ($80 after taxes). Yet Hroisman reports they will receive 33% more on average, and their base salary raises from $120 to $160, while the experienced and trained staff is to receive as much as $270 per month (7,000 UAH). It sounds nice, but most teachers receive $100 or less. Besides, thousands cannot get full wage rate, and are paid $50-70 per month. The same happens in the healthcare: the Government reports salaries as high as 5900 UAH per month (planned 2017 20% increase included) - $230, but most do not make even $100. As 2015 inflation was as high as 43.3%, the declared increase does not compensate it, leaving real income far less than it was in 2013.
So Hroisman has chosen the path of lies. He creates impression of his hard work and effectiveness, while the matters get worse – mostly due to undercover agreements providing noncompetitive preferences to oligarchs’ corporate business. They say, that early elections can be announced in 2017 as President Poroshenko would like to get rid of Yatseniuk’s party whose rating has extremely fallen. And one should never forget that the top officials are reported to be paid in cash each month – at least $10,000 for an MP, $20,000 for a Minister, $3,000 for their aides, so they have nothing to worry about in a country where average salary is $200 per month, and yearly income is about $2,000.
