Page 12 - UKRRptSept19

Zelenskiy said in a televised meeting: “We’re here to set strategic tasks, with deadlines and with people who will be responsible.”
The government has set itself an ambitious legislative agenda. The new government kicked off by nixing immunity from prosecution for deputies, which by itself is a revolutionary move. The Rada is stacked with proxies for the oligarchs and other deputies have used their positions to enrich themselves by guiding state contracts to companies that are controlled by themselves or their friends. Now all the deputies are open to corruption investigations and jail time if they are caught.
The second big set piece to be launched on the first day of work was a pledge to create a market for land by next summer and end the ongoing moratorium on sales – a key demand by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The reform was attempted under the former President Petro Poroshenko administration, but abandoned as too politically sensitive in the run up to the elections just gone.
This reform alone will cost Zelenskiy a lot of political capital as land ownership is an emotive issue, but the previous plan estimated that a land market should bring in $2bn of new revenue to the state in the first year and clear title to land will allow credits for investment and development that should lead to rapid gains in agriculture, Ukraine’s most attractive and productive sector.
Below is a list of the main initiatives on the table and deadlines, where they have been set, as reported by Ukraine Business News with bne IntelliNews’ comments.
Land Market: draft legislation to create a land market, to be prepared by October 1 this year by the Cabinet of Ministers. Abolition of the moratorium on the sale on farmland is to be implemented by the Rada by December 1 this year. Creation of a farmland market is to be created by the middle of next year. The initial market operations will be overseen by the new Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture. A state land registry is to be created by 2021. Russia freed land ownership many years ago and has seen private investment flood into the sector and agricultural production boom.
Capital controls: to be totally removed by the end of this year. the Hryvnia to be fully convertible. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been winding down the capital controls in the last year as the economy stabilises, but the system is still not entirely free. “Full currency liberalization is very important. It is important to ensure free capital flow so that investments come in, that people are not afraid that they will not be able to get them out of here,” Honcharuk said.
Legalise gambling, amber mining: Draft legislation to legalise and regular gambling and amber mining to be prepared by the Rada by October 1. Both these businesses are potential money earners and both currently exist mostly in the grey economy. Amber mining generates an estimated $500mn a year, but generates no taxes and wildcat miners do significant environmental damage. Casino were banned in 2009, but underground gambling is thought to be worth billions of dollars. (Minsk has recently introduced similar policies).
Public-Private Partnership laws: Draft legislation to create a framework of PPP concessions for the development of infrastructure to be submitted to the Rada by October 1.
12 UKRAINE Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com