Large cabinet, regional administration reorganizations being planned, Shmyhal says

Large reorganizations are being planned for Ukraine’s
Cabinet of Ministers, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in an exclusive
interview with the Interfax-Ukraine news agency published on May 25. Firstly,
the Ministry of Energy and Environmental Protection is planned to be split in
two, he said. “It was strange for me when I was at the first Cabinet of
Ministers meeting, when the energy minister began to report on the condition of
affairs in atomic energy, then the coal industry, and then about Red Book
plants and the catch of bloodworms. From that point, I became an advocate of a
professional environmentalist overseeing the ecology, for whom this is familiar
and has made a profession of it,” Shmyhal said.

In a similar fashion, the cabinet is also considering
dividing the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Shmyhal
said. “This exists at the level of ideas. We are working on this with the
economy minister, together with deputy prime ministers,” he said. The cabinet
also plans a higher emphasis on industry, he said. “How this will be done is
still being discussed – creating a separate position of deputy prime minister,
appointing a strong deputy economy minister or possibly creating a Ministry of
Industrial Policy and State Defense Contracting,” he said. 

The cabinet is also planning further decentralization
of local government, Shmyhal also said in the interview. Constitutional
amendments to allow for further decentralization should be approved by July, at
least ahead of the local elections planned for October, Shmyhal said. Already
1,029 communities (OTHs) have been created out of 1,300 planned, he said. Now
the subregional level of the regional (oblast) administrations is being
organized, he said, which will replace the current district administrations and
their budgets. “Subregional structures are needed since it will be difficult
for 1,300 communities to reach agreement and approve decisions. Budgets aren’t
supposed to exist in districts, but this unifying and coordinating element
should remain,” Shmyhal said. Recall, regional (oblast) and district
administrations are the local representative bodies of the presidential administration.

Zenon Zawada: Ukraine’s
ministries have been reshuffled and recombined every few years so this isn’t
anything new or progressive. These developments indicate Shmyhal is a pragmatic
administrator who is interested in making government at least somewhat more
effective. We can’t rule out that these restructurings will be performed to
favor certain magnates and industrial groups.

This interview also confirms that Shmyhal prefers to
work behind the scenes on the mechanics of governance rather than build his
image and make populist promises in front of cameras. This style increases his
chances of remaining longer as prime minister since President Zelensky will not
be concerned about being overshadowed by Shmyhal.