KYIV. Aug 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The electronic declaration system of assets of officials will begin its work in Ukraine on September 1, 2016, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko said in an interview with CNN, the Ukrayinska Pravda Internet publication said.
According to the publication, when commenting on the recent statements by Transparency International regarding the deterioration of the situation in the fight against corruption, Poroshenko said that the system of combating corruption is being reformed, and, the electronic declaration system, which was previously expected to start its work on August 15, will be launched on September 1.
“We are launching it now … namely on September 1, we will launch an e-declaration system. The topic of discussion with Transparency International was the situation surrounding the fight against corruption. Only five days remain [before the start of the system], and you will see that the project will start its work, and the electronic declaration is an effective tool for fighting corruption. The system of e-declaration will start its work on par with other elements of the anti-corruption system,” the Ukrainian president said.
As reported, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman at a government meeting demanded the system of e-declaration of officials’ assets should be launched on September 1, 2016 and threatened with dismissals for the failure to launch it. “My goal is to launch e-declaration from September 1. I demand this… There is no other date,” he said.
As was earlier reported, officials announced the launch of the e-declaration system at midnight on August 15 despite the fact that its data protection system had not been certified by the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine.
In particular, Transparency International Ukraine was disturbed by the launch of an electronic income declaration system without proper certification, and insists that the officials who are responsible for this should resign.
Under the law on combating corruption, high-ranking officials are to fill in new detailed income declarations in 2016 within 60 days after the launch of the e-declaration system.
In particular, electronic statements of assets and income should be submitted by the Ukrainian president and the prime minister along with their advisors and assistants, government members, deputy ministers, members of the national commissions and the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine, the head of the State Property Fund and the central bank governor along with their deputies. Ukrainian parliamentarians and civil servants belonging to the “A” or “B” categories, as well as judges, prosecutors, investigators, heads, deputy heads of state agencies whose jurisdiction covers the entire territory of Ukraine are also subject to e-declaration. High-ranking military officers are also to declare their incomes with the help of the new system.
KYIV. Aug 29 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukrainian farmers started the maize harvesting campaign and collected 8,000 tonnes from 3,000 hectares as of August 26, 2016.
The crop yield is 3.32 tonnes per hectare, the Ukrainian Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry’s press service said.
What is more, they harvested 60,000 tonnes of buckwheat from 46,000 hectares (31% of the target. The crop yield of buckwheat was 1.29 tonnes per hectare.
Millet was harvested from 47,000 hectares, or 46% of the target. The total yield was 87,000 tonnes with the crop yield being 1.84 tonnes per hectare.
Farmers harvested 71,000 tonnes of sunflower seeds from 37,000 hectares with the crop yield being 1.89 tonnes per hectare.
Grain and leguminous crops were harvested from 9.8 million hectares (68% of the target). Farmers gathered 38.2 million tonnes, the crop yield was 3.91 tonnes per hectare.
Actual exports as of August 26, 2016, were 3.948 million tonnes. Of this amount, wheat is 1.74 million tonnes, maize is 478,000 tonnes, barley is 1.714 million tonnes, while 16,000 tonnes are other types of grain crops.
By that date, flour exports totaled almost 31,000 tonnes.
Total grain exports were 3.989 million tonnes.
KYIV. Aug 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – NJSC Ukrenergo has developed a draft investment program for 2017 to the tune of UAH 7.667 billion.
The document was posted on the company’s website.
The key sources of the financing will be profit worth UAH 2.476 billion, amortization worth UAH 984.993 million, and loans worth UAH 4.206 billion.
As reported, Ukrenergo operates trunk and interstate power grids, as well as performs the centralized dispatching of the united energy system in the country. The company is a state enterprise, and it is subordinate to the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry.
KYIV. Aug 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Head of Luhansk civil and military administration Yuriy Harbuz has said Chinese investors are interested in launching photovoltaic (PV) panel production in the region.
“Recently I had investors from China under the industry development program. We are looking for an option to organize PV panel production here,” he said in an interview with the Uriadovy Kurier publication.
He said that the region has skilled staff and industrial sites where they can work.
He also said that there is demand on PV panels in the region.
KYIV. August 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine’s Economic Development and Trade Ministry and China’s Ministry of Commerce have made arrangements concerning mutual understanding in application of trade safeguards tools in international trade.
An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the agreement as signed by Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister and Trade Representative Natalia Mykolska and Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming in Kyiv on Thursday.
“We have actively worked on the issues of cooperation in trade, investment, technical regulation, transport, energy, tourism and high-tech areas,” Mykolska said at a briefing after a meeting of the sub-commission for trade and economic cooperation of the cooperation commission of the Ukrainian and Chinese governments.
Mykolska said that China is second in terms of goods turnover with Ukraine.
“We worked in the sub-commission to determine, lay out and draft the action plan to overcome negative trends in trade we have seen in 2015 and early 2016,” she added.
She said that the sides will agree the list of goods for mutual exports and imports, support participation of enterprises in exhibitions and fairs and make reciprocal travel arrangements for trade missions.
Kyiv and Beijing will promote the creation of industrial enterprises to export products to the European Union market.
Mykolska said that top priority directions of cooperation are agriculture, industry, infrastructure development, in particular transport (the railway section of the Silk Road), and tourism.
KYIV. Aug 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Public joint-stock company Azovobschemash (Mariupol, Donetsk region), the flagship company of the leader of Ukrainian heavy engineering Azovmash Group, will ship 3,000 wagons to Iran, the Ukrainian Embassy in Iran has reported.
The cost of the agreement signed with the help of the embassy exceeded EUR 100 million.
“This is only a first agreement to supply Azovobschemash’s products to Iran. The total need of Iranian state-run companies Pars Wagon and Kors Wagon exceeds 35,000 wagons, gondola cars and tank wagons. Thus, the total potential of Azovobschemash’s cooperation with Iranian enterprises is over EUR 1 billion,” the embassy said.
Early August Ukrainian Ambassador to Iran Serhiy Burdyliak said in an interview with Iranian Tasnim news agency that Azovmash and Kriukov Car Building Works (KCBW) are holding talks with Pars Wagon and Kors Wagon on creation of joint ventures to work in Iran.
On July 13, 2016, Ukraine’s Infrastructure Ministry and Infrastructure Ministry and Roads and Urban Development Ministry of Iran signed a memorandum of understanding.
Iran has invited Ukraine to build 1,000 kilometers of railroad tracks in Iran and participate in projects worth $10 billion provided by Teheran for modernization of railway infrastructure and development of intermodal transportation.
