Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal has said the government has no plans to introduce a full lockdown across the country.
“We do not plan to introduce a full lockdown across the country and stop the economy. But as the president said: the only alternative to lockdown is precisely mass vaccination,” Shmyhal said at a government meeting on Wednesday.
The prime minister also said that several more regions may soon fall into the “red” zone.
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Yevhen Marchuk died on Thursday morning, his wife Larysa Ivshyna said.
“Black day […] Yevhen Marchuk died […]. Heart stopped,” she said on her Facebook page.
Marchuk was 80 years old.
He was first acting head of the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) from November 1991 to July 1994. Marchuk headed the Ukrainian government from March 1995 to May 1996, and from June 2003 to September 2004 he was the Minister of Defense.
He also had the rank of General of the Army of Ukraine.
Marchuk represented Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) from November 2018 to May 2019.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal instructed the relevant ministries and departments to issue clarifications regarding the launch of the land market.
“In less than a week, the land market will start operating in Ukraine. We held a preparatory meeting with representatives of ministries, the President’s Office, the NSDC secretary and members of the specialized committees of the Verkhovna Rada,” Shmyhal wrote in his Telegram channel.
The prime minister said that he instructed the relevant departments to pay special attention to the process of starting the reform.
“He also instructed the Ministry of Agrarian Ministry, the Ministry of Justice and the State Tax Service to issue clarifications regarding the land market, the work of notaries and to maximize the resolution of issues that Ukrainians may have,” he said.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal says that as a result of the public administration reform, the maximum number of civil servants in the central executive authorities and their territorial units should decrease by about 10%.
“Efficiency in the work of civil servants should be in the first place. The government is taking important steps to complete the reform of public administration. As part of this initiative, the maximum number of civil servants in the central administrative office and their territorial units should be reduced by about 10%,” Shmyhal said in the Telegram channel.
The prime minister said that a bill is also being prepared to reform the system of remuneration of civil servants based on the classification of positions, which will make it impossible to pay allowances to officials on a subjective basis and will increase the prestige of the civil service.
“The key steps in the implementation of the project were discussed at a meeting with the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Digital Transformation and the National Civil Service Agency. These four departments will be the first to introduce a new financial model. And then, the remuneration system should make money in other public institutions,” Shmyhal said.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal and Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Eduard Heger agreed on the need to intensify bilateral cooperation.
“Today we have agreed on the need to intensify our bilateral cooperation. Holding the next fifth meeting of the Ukrainian-Slovak combined commission on economic, industrial, scientific and technical cooperation will be an important step in assessing the state of trade between our countries,” Shmyhal said at a joint briefing with Heger in Kyiv on Friday.
In addition, the parties agreed to maximize the use of the transit potential of the countries. Shmyhal also noted that the introduction of joint border and customs control at the border is important for both countries.
Among other things, the parties agreed that cooperation between countries in the field of employment and labor migration requires additional attention from governments.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar discussed with Ambassador of Spain to Ukraine Silvia Cortes Martin the preparation of the visit to Ukraine of Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez and the holding of a large-scale business forum.
“Meeting with Spanish Ambassador to Ukraine Mrs. Silvia Cortes Martin. We focused on preparing Pedro Sanchez’ visit to Ukraine and holding a large-scale business forum. We have agreed to take measures to develop the legal framework,” Bodnar wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
He also thanked the ambassador for Spain’s support for Ukraine’s European integration path.
