Ukraine will increase natural gas rates further, PM says

Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers will have to increase natural gas rates further, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told a television network on April 20. “There are commitments signed by Ukraine that gas rates will conform to their value by 100%. There’s no other way,” he said. “Low or economically unjustified rates are a field for fierce corruption.” The government will work to minimize the negative effects on citizens, he said.

Zenon Zawada: Groysman deserves credit for sticking to IMF requirements, no matter how unpopular they are. However to offset such unpopular measures, the new Cabinet has to show new initiatives. Yet nothing has been announced in his first days as prime minister, which was reflected by the Cabinet program approved on April 14, which is turned out to be merely a rehash from the previous one.

Among Groysman’s first initaitives as prime minister was to ask Cabinet officials on April 16 to draft proposals on how to reduce prices for certain medicines that are inflated. This is a cheap publicity stunt as this problem could have been addressed without the spotlight. Moreover, no one is likely to be punished for inflating prices. Unfortunately, we’re seeing business as usual, which does not bode well for Ukraine’s reform and development prospects.