In another move to curtail the influence of billionaire oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, President Petro Poroshenko is expected to name ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as governor of Odesa Oblast.
Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Ihor Shevchenko said in a Facebook post on May 29 that the Cabinet of Ministers recommended the appointment of Saakashvili to the strategic oblast. Saakashvili has been a top adviser to Poroshenko.
“The final decision is up to the president of Ukraine, as stipulated by the Constitution,” Shevchenko wrote. There was no official announcement from the president’s website late on May 29.
Shevchenko told the Kyiv Post that Saakashvili would be a good appointment “in any place, because he is a meritocrat” and that the change is in the best interests of Ukraine.
Odesa Oblast is one of Ukraine’s most difficult regions because of its history of corruption as well as its strategic location as the top Black Sea port, no doubt coveted by Russian President Vladimir Pution.
If appointed, Saakashvili will replace Ihor Palytsya, who has been governor of Odesa Oblast since last May and who used to work at companies linked to Kolomoisky, who was fired earlier this year as governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Analysts say Odesa is vulnerable to potential Kremlin-backed unrest, while local authorities are dominated by former loyalists of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
Saakashvili, who currently heads Ukraine’s International Advisory Council for Reforms, carried out radical reforms in Georgia during his presidency from 2004-2013. As a result of the reforms, the country became one of the least corrupt and most economically free countries, according to international rankings. Many members of Saakashvili’s team of reformers have been appointed to key government positions in Ukraine since December.
Kyiv Post staff writer Oleg Sukhov can be reached at [email protected].
