Oleksandr Popov, first deputy mayor of Kyiv, is effectively running the city now that Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky disappeared from the public eye. An appointee of Party of the Regions, 49-year-old Popov was elected mayor of the town of Komsomolsk, Poltava Oblast, four times before moving on to become minister for utility sector reform and parliament deputy. Popov was appointed first deputy mayor of Kyiv on June 15. In a recent interview with the Kyiv Post he talked about raising utility service charges, reconstruction of old city streets and other city issues.
Kyiv Post: What are your current priorities for dealing with city problems?
Oleksandr Popov: We have defined main priorities for the near future by learning what bothers Kyivans. Mostly people are concerned about public housing and healthcare. So we will deal with problems in these sectors first. This week I toured the city’s heating plants. I can assure you that they have great potential and will be ready for the heating season. At the same time, there are two major problems there – infrastructure wearing down and consumers’ debts. There are 40 kilometers of pipes sitting in warehouses that belong to the utility company Kyivenergo which had been bought under the World Bank program. But so far, the city administration has failed to finance the replacement of old pipes with the new ones. But we will solve this problem. The city infrastructure is worn out, around 60 percent of it is outdated. Another communal utility company Kyivvodokanal was built in 1960s and it is indeed a company from the previous century. Its pumps, engines and technologies are extremely energy consuming. Introducing new, energy saving technologies there would benefit Kyivans as this will reduce utility rates.
KP: Speaking about the rates, could you explain how they will change as of Aug. 1 due to the rise of natural gas price for households?
O.P: The price of gas for households will go up by 50 percent. But hot water and heating rates will not grow. For a one room apartment the natural gas bill will rise by approximately Hr 10 at most. So we cannot say it would have a dramatic effect on the people’s budgets… At the same time, we are planning to lower requirements for subsidy recipients so that more Kyivans could get help from the budget. Also, we plan to install water and electricity counters for welfare recipients. Speaking about state institutions like hospitals and schools, we will try to soften the increase in utility rates for them. In autumn we will amend the budget and hopefully will compensate the difference to them.
KP: Will the cost of public transport go up?
O.P.: We might have to the cost of public transport to the economically justified rate. However, I can assure you that Kyivans who have bought monthly or yearly travel passes will not be affected. I have met with representatives of the Kyiv metro and the rate they ask for is Hr 2.4 per trip. But we are not considering a raise like that.
KP: When you served as city mayor in Komsomolsk, you established the so-called “desks of mutual help” in hospitals. Can you tell us more about his system and when will it be introduced in Kyiv.
O.P.: This system really works in Komsomolsk. It is a type of simplified insurance system when a person pays a fixed amount of money to the desk monthly and in case of illness he or she gets free treatment in the hospital. We will give more details about this system during a press tour to Komsomolsk. In Kyiv the system will be introduced on January 1.
KP: When will the long promised high speed tram to Borshchahivka be launched?
O.P.: We plan the launch for Oct 1. As far as allegations go that an unsafe technology was used, I can assure you that although the technology is new it is recognized by experts. Anyway, we will run tests, and have already consulted experts from the Paton Electric Welding Institute and got their approval.
KP: What is the plan of dealing with the waste in the city? There have been talks about introducing a system of separate garbage collection and imposing fines for failure to use it.
O.P.: You know, garbage can be sorted at factories as well… There are a lot of very modern technologies and we have received a lot of offers. Now we are trying to develop a strategy. But the main principle is that the waste should be used as a resource. For example, we can burn it and use the energy for heating. When it comes to separate garbage collection, we should first prepare Kyivans for that. I know that this works in some small towns, for example in Myrhorod. And I am sure this will be the case in Kyiv over time.
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Popov also said that he is planning to start a new project for reconstruction of Andriyivsky Uzviz and Kontraktova Square, called “Streets of the old city.”
“I am sure everyone will agree that old streets of Kyiv are looking bad. They should look like ancient streets of European cities. We are developing a program for their reconstruction, and will soon will make the details available,” said Popov.
Popov also promised to deal with the city’s public artesian water wells. “Currently there 206 wells in Kyiv and 73 of them are out of service. At the same time, Kyivans like to use the water from those wells. I have talked to people and realized it’s very important for them. The problem now is that a part of those wells are financed from city districts’ administrations, and others by public utilities companies. We have decided to create a new public utilities company which will manage them. Private business can also be involved in running the wells. Naturally, the water will remain free of charge.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Svitlana Tuchynska can be reached at [email protected]
