The draft budget of Kyiv for 2021 provides for an increase in the revenue part by 1.3% in comparison with the expected implementation of the budget for 2020, to UAH 59.2 billion, expenses are planned at the level of UAH 56.6 billion, the press service of Kyiv City State Administration has said.
According to the report, the draft budget provides for the allocation of more than UAH 10 billion for infrastructure development, including UAH 3.4 billion for construction and reconstruction. Another UAH 1.5 billion was allocated for the municipal improvement sector.
“Due to this resource, it is planned to continue the construction of the metro line to the Vynohradar residential area, the Podilsky bridge crossing, the technical re-equipment of the Energia plant, the construction and reconstruction of preschool and educational institutions,” the director of the administration’s finance department, Volodymyr Repik, said.
According to him, spending on education accounts for 43% of the total forecast amount – UAH 24.1 billion, which is UAH 3.2 billion more than in 2020. In addition, the wage fund for teachers will amount to UAH 2.6 billion. In general, the wage fund for workers in the public and municipal sectors will increase by 26.3%.
The draft document also provides for the allocation of UAH 4.5 billion for social protection and security.
In addition, the budget provides for the repayment of UAH 2.7 billion of internal and external loans of the city.
The arbitration panel in the dispute between Ukraine and the EU regarding the ban on the export of unprocessed wood (logs) has recognized that Ukraine has the right to restrict the export of logs under certain circumstances, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture, Trade Representative Taras Kachka has said.
“The arbitrators in the unprocessed wood case have made their decision regarding the ban on the export of logs. The arbitrators recognized that Ukraine is able and has the right to restrict logs exports under certain circumstances. So the existing export ban in 2005 was recognized by the court as fully legitimate,” Kachka wrote on his Facebook page.
He said that at the same time, the arbitrators recognized that the 2015 ban should be adjusted taking into account the full right of Ukraine to regulate this area of activity in accordance with Article 290 and Article 293 of the Association Agreement. Corrective actions should be carried out in cooperation with the EU.
“The decision of the arbitrators gives us wide freedom to choose the measures of execution of the decision. The cornerstone of its implementation will be the creation of a normal market within Ukraine. So, the first step should be the approval of the law of Ukraine on the unprocessed wood market (bill No. 4197-1) based on a government experiment to sell logs at auctions,” Kachka said.
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andriy Taran signed agreements with Turkish companies on the transfer of technology and production of corvettes and unmanned attack aircraft systems for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said on its website on Monday, the signing took place within the visit of the Turkish delegation to Ukraine, headed by President of Defence Industries of Turkey Ismail Demir.
According to Taran, first of all, this is about projects designed to radically enhance the combat capabilities of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to improve security in the area of the Black and Azov Seas.
The minister said these are the first in history foreign economic transactions for military goods concluded by the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said that in October, Taran and Demir signed a memorandum with the intention to start and implement joint projects for the construction of warships, unmanned aerial vehicles and all types of turbine engines.
The shareholders in Kernel, one of the largest Ukrainian agrarian groups, at the annual general meeting held on December 10 approved a dividend of $0.42 per share for FY 2020 (July-2019 – June-2020).
According to the company’s statement on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, the general meeting delegated to the Board of Directors to set up record and payment dates to distribute the dividends.
Kernel’s share price at the close on Friday, November 11, was PLN 45.05 per share, up from PLN 39.35 when the plan to pay the dividend was announced on November 9. The total number of shares in circulation is 84.031 million. According to the annual report of the holding company of the Kernel Holding SA group, Kernel’s Board of Directors will offer to shareholders to approve the payment of a dividend of $0.25 per share.
In FY 2019, Kernel paid a dividend of $0.25 per share on April 30, 2020.
Kernel is a producer and exporter of sunflower oil.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved a list of lockdown restrictions that will have effect throughout Ukraine from December 19, 2020.
According to the press service of the government, from December 19, 2020, new restrictions will apply throughout Ukraine.
In particular, the new restrictions prohibit: holding mass events in educational institutions (performances, celebrations, concerts) with the participation of children from more than one group or class and in the presence of visitors; holding festive events, banquets, master classes, public events in entertainment and catering establishments; reception of visitors in museums, exhibitions, galleries, if there are more than one person per ten square meters; catering work from 23:00 to 07:00 (except for delivery and take-away orders). Settlement transactions are terminated after 22:00. On the night from December 31 to January 1, the work of restaurants and cafes will be allowed until 01:00.
As for religious events: indoors, subject to the presence of more than one person per five square meters; in the open air, provided that the distance of one and a half meters between those present is not observed.
In addition, the previous restrictions will apply. In particular, it is prohibited: to stay in public transport and public places without wearing a mask, as well as being on the street without identity documents; unauthorized leaving of the place of isolation or observation; holding mass cultural (including concerts), sports, social, advertising and other events in which more than 20 people take part and the distance of one and a half meters between the participants is not maintained (exception is official and professional sports events without spectators, examinations for notaries and measures necessary to ensure the work of the authorities); operation of cinemas and cultural institutions with more than 50% of seats in one hall; there are more passengers in passenger transport than the number of seats (except for the metro); holding discos, nightclubs and catering establishments with leisure organizations; accommodation in catering establishments for more than four adults at the table and when the distance between the tables is less than two meters.
The work of business entities in which employees are not provided with masks, and markings are not applied at a distance between clients of one and a half meters, and visitors do not have properly dressed personal protective equipment; border crossing by foreigners without insurance policy (with some exceptions); the activities of accommodation institutions (except for hotels, rehabilitation centers for people with disabilities, health resorts); visiting educational institutions by groups of more than 20 people, except for institutions of preschool, general secondary, extracurricular and specialized art education; visiting educational institutions in the case when more than 50% of students and staff of an educational institution are on self-isolation; carrying out planned hospitalization measures (except for palliative care, obstetrics, newborns, obstetrics, treatment of cancer patients, highly specialized (tertiary) medical care and other emergency medical care); work of gyms and fitness centers, if there is more than one person per 20 square meters; visiting points (places) of temporary detention of persons, points of temporary stay of foreigners and stateless persons, as well as points of accommodation of refugees; crossing the entry-exit checkpoint in the temporarily occupied territories of CADLO and Crimea by foreigners without an insurance policy (with some exceptions); visits by unauthorized persons to social security institutions in which certain categories of citizens are located (elderly people, war veterans, persons with disabilities, mental disorders, etc.).
Prices for construction and installation work in Ukraine in January-October 2020 increased by 2.6% compared to January-October 2019, the State Statistics Service (Derzhstat) reported.
According to the statistics department, since the beginning of the year, prices have increased in all construction segments. Thus, in residential construction, the growth was 4.3%, non-residential – 0.5%, and engineering – 3%.
In October 2020 to October 2019, the cost of construction work in residential construction increased by 5.6%, non-residential – by 3.6%, and engineering – by 10.2%.
In addition, the State Statistics Service reported that in October compared to September, the cost of construction of residential buildings increased by 0.1%, non-residential buildings and engineering structures – by 0.3%.
According to it, in 2019, prices for construction work in Ukraine increased by 6% compared to the previous year, while in 2018 – by 23%.
The indicators are given without taking into account the annexed territory of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as part of the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the State Statistics Service notes.
