From November, gas prices for the population will be increased by 23.5%. This decision was the result of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund. According to Ukrainian prime minister, prices could rise by 60%, but during the negotiations, it was still possible to reach a compromise. A bit more about the gas issue – in reactions from DUMKA.
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko stressed that the current state of the economy would allow the country to get along without borrowing from the IMF and raising tariffs, if not for peak payments on old loans that should have been paid since 2009. According to the chief of state, most of the loans were taken by those political forces that today are the biggest defenders of common people. So, now someone has to take care of what they’ve done, actually to give the money back.
Apart from this, Poroshenko assured that he demanded the government: to protect people, expand the program of subsidies and increase the funds for this program so that the most vulnerable groups and anyone for whom this increase may cause damage are not affected by tariff growth.
On the other hand, Volodymyr Groysman, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, tried to assure readers that the rise in gas prices was a compulsory step after all Ukraine undertook this commitment in 2008. And if we don’t do it now, there is the risk of returning to default and times of hyperinflation. Groysman also said that 23.5% is less than the IMF’s initial demands.
However, today the prime minister has promised that there will be enough of gas should for the heating season. Obviously, it means that fuel prices are not going to increase yet.
Blogger Sergey Naumovich drew attention to the difference between the president and prime minister’s comments on the increase of gas tariffs. According to him, it shows that Hroisman, who is going to run for the presidency, takes the entire negative on himself. Poroshenko is obviously going to take part in the electoral race. Therefore he takes care of his positive image.
Taras Kozak, financier, and president of the “Univer” investment group, admitted that he considers the government’s decision weak and harmful. According to the expert, it would be much better for Ukraine to bring the gas price for all consumers to the market level. After all, we already have a gas market in our country, however, only for industrial consumers so far. According to Kozak, poor Ukrainians are those who need protection. The key word here is “poor”, not everybody. There can’t be the same price for retired people with small apartments and oligarchs with huge estates.
However, the political expert Olexiy Minakov emphasized that the gas issue can… determine the results of presidential elections and the course of Ukraine. Once, Russia put Ukraine to that “gas train”. Although we no longer buy Russian gas, the idea that “gas is cheap and affordable” was planted in minds of Ukrainians. That’s why rising gas prices are painful and reflects in the attitude of Ukrainian people towards politicians.
In his turn, economist and MP, Oleksiy Ryabchyn, gave a list of minimal steps that the government had to carry out to build the appropriate market infrastructure, reduce energy consumption, and, accordingly, the figures in the bills of people. Among the steps listed by the expert is the accounting of consumption, the partial monetization of subsidies and the compilation of their recipients’ registers. As well as opening of a subscriber base of consumers, the launch of energy efficiency funds and the full-scale production of our own gas. Ryabchyn explained each of the theses in a rather detailed way but noted that one could have elaborated on these topics. At the end of his post, the MP stated: the main rule of interaction with the IMF is as soon as possible… to refuse from cooperation with the IMF. In his opinion, this will mean a stable growth of an economy that is capable of generating sustainable income independently without external borrowings.
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