Ukraine to renew more than half of roads in five years, PM says

The Ukrainian government will renew more than half of
its roads in the next five years, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said on
Ukrainian television on March 24. “We are increasing the responsibility of our
contractors and created mobile groups for reviews,” he said. “Those who skimp
on their construction work will cover the mistakes at their own cost. We will
also introduce quality guarantees in five-ten years.”

Zenon Zawada: Groysman certainly won’t be prime minister after the 2019 elections so
he can’t promise what will happen in five years. If Groysman had already made
renewing Ukraine’s subpar roads a priority for his government, as he had vowed
to do when becoming prime minister two years ago, he would already be among
Ukraine’s most popular politicians. Instead, many of the capital city’s streets
remain in decrepit condition. Meanwhile, Groysman hasn’t built a support base
of his own, certainly not enough to launch his own party, and is still weighing
what party to join ahead of next year’s elections.