Does Verkhovna Rada really want to hear the voice of the people?
The Parliament Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information has approved the draft regulation No. 8007 regarding the public discussion of draft laws online, on the website of Verkhovna Rada. The project is aimed at encouraging citizens to express their opinions on different draft laws for deputies to take into consideration. It is suggested that every citizen willing to participate will have to register. Oleksandr Feldman, a member of the Party of Regions faction in parliament and author of the initiative, believes that broader opportunities for the discussion of draft laws are indicative of the general democratisation of society.
The majority of Ukrainians believe that the government does not work in the people’s interests.
Meanwhile, research carried out by GfK Ukraine demonstrates that the majority of Ukrainians believe that the government does not work in the people’s interests. According to 84 percent of respondents, those in power do not care about the lives of those beneath them, while 80 percent of respondents are certain that their opinion is worth nothing and 78 percent believe strongly that they have zero influence on what is happening in Ukraine.
Besides this, 83 percent of Ukrainians agree that the majority of people in power strive to profit at the expense of common people.
People First Comment: Congratulations to Feldman for initiating this step towards real democratic due process. The more open and transparent the Rada becomes the more faith the public will have in the work of elected deputies. However, this is a double-edged sword. It is one thing to engage with the public. It is another to heed their opinions. Sadly this administration has a track record of paying lip service to public opinion and doing exactly the opposite. The new tax law and the new election laws are prime examples. If the same thing happens with public comment on draft legislation then this administration may well find its self-limited to only one term as public scepticism turns into voter anger.
Yanukovych disappointed while public unsurprised
During the president’s annual address to parliament, he expressed discontent with the results delivered by the governing authorities during the first year of his presidency. Yanukovych noted that he and his team have managed to implement only one third of what they promised for 2010. In his speech, the president assured Verkhovna Rada of his intentions to break through societal apathy, lack of accountability of politicians and overcome the bureaucracy and corruption within the governing authorities.
Yanukovych has continuously lost the trust of the people since his inauguration.
However, Yanukovych has continuously lost the trust of the people since his inauguration, as proved by the social survey carried out in late April by Razumkov Centre. If the presidential elections were to be hosted in the near future, Yanukovych would receive 16.7 percent of the votes, representing a dramatic drop in his personal rating. Yet all the other political figures possess even less credibility: Yulia Tymoshenko with 13.3 percent and Arseniy Yatsenyuk with less than 10 percent of the peoples’ favor.
People First Comment: At last the president, in his speech, has reached the inevitable conclusion that it takes much more than just a strong captain to ensure that the ship sails in the right direction. Sitting behind a big desk barking orders may have worked in the Soviet era, when orders from above were backed up by one of the largest secret services on earth. But they are little more than yapping when the civil service and the much of the security apparatus is working in their own interests. Even the president’s vertical power structure has done little to reduce bureaucracy, government incompetence, corruption, laziness and greed. The problem with the management structure of the government of Ukraine is that it is not based on enthusiasm and supportive management, it is based on fear and personal interest. Few bureaucrats actually make decisions. This would mean they would have to take responsibility for the outcome. Most simply use their position and power as a means of exhorting money from those that need their grace and favor. As a result, nothing really happens. History has taught us that authoritarian government is possibly the most ineffective form of government yet invented.
Party of Regions points fingers abroad and raises fears
Oleksandr Yefremov, leader of the Party of Regions fraction in the parliament, has issued a public statement claiming that a foreign investor has donated funds towards implementing projects in Ukraine reflective of the recent revolutions in North African countries. He claimed that George Soros had directly invested funds to prepare a protest group of young Ukrainians. After Yafremov’s statement a newspaper owned by a well-known deputy from the Party of Regions published information from an anonymous source claiming that George Soros and Boris Berezovsky also financed the recent protests against the new tax code. These claims were refuted not only by Berezovsky, director of the International Renaissance Foundation (established by Soros), but also by the organizers of the protests against the tax code and representatives of the security services. The Security Service of Ukraine has also informed that there have been no investigations concerning International financing of a North African style revolution in Ukraine, nor has there been any enquiry received from Ukrainian deputies about the activity of Soros in Ukraine.
In the meantime, the Party of Regions has started work on a new draft law designed to expose the financing of civil organizations in Ukraine. The authorities may even attempt to restrict the activity of foreign and non-governmental organizations on the territory of Ukraine – mimicking the situation in Russia and Belarus. Vadym Kolesnichenko, one of the authors of the draft law, stated that the procedure according to which civil organizations receive foreign grants must be regulated by law.
Commenting on the new government’s initiatives, Yevgen Bystrytsky, executive director of the International Renaissance Foundation, mentioned that the very idea of restricting the activity of international non-governmental organizations in Ukraine goes against the country’s commitment towards integration with the EU.
People First Comment: This is all very reminiscent of the McCarthy anti-communist witch hunts of 1950s America where the state spent millions of dollars and wasted years of court time looking for “Reds under the beds.” Perhaps the Party of Regions should spend their time a little more productively looking at the impact of their policies on society as these are the real causes of social dissent. We believe that civil organisations are the partners of effective government.
Ukraine Internet enters home
The percentage of the population of Ukraine with access to the Internet is on the rise, as evidenced by the research into global trends in Internet access carried out by GfK global in partnership with GfK Ukraine.
Before long, nearly every Ukrainian family will have access to the Internet at home, providing unprecedented access to information. The home has now become the primary place for access to the Internet, accounting for 77 percent of Internet users in Ukraine.
According to estimates, the number of Ukrainians with at-home Internet access increased by 45 percent from the end of 2009 until the end of 2010 and now accounts for 26 percent of the population (11-12 million people). Before long, nearly every Ukrainian family will have access to the Internet at home, providing unprecedented access to information. The home has now become the primary place for access to the Internet, accounting for 77 percent of Internet users in Ukraine.
The development of Internet access is particularly active in towns with 50-100,000 people. This together with growing popularity of social networks broadens opportunities for the development of democracy and makes it difficult for those in power to manipulate the population through misinformation.
Consequently, when the parliamentary elections are conducted in Ukraine, Internet will serve as one of the primary information platforms and will prove its value as an increasingly influential communications tool.
People First Comment: There was a time in this part of the world where the government machine controlled every single word, where the public were literally brainwashed with party dogma and party information, where the world was an illusion of security. There are those in political circles both in Ukraine and outside who feel this deluge of information can be controlled and even censored. The authorities just have to learn to live with the reality. Most liberal and forward thinking governments in the world have recognized the inevitability of the information revolution and sought ways to use it to advantage. In the United Kingdom, for example, the government is ensuring that Internet access is available to every household to enable more effective local and national government. In Sweden, much of the health service and social services are now online. In Ukraine the biggest problem for the government is not the means of communication, it is what to communicate.
Viktor Tkachuk is chief executive officer of the People First Foundation, which seeks to strengthen Ukrainian democracy. The organization’s website is: www.peoplefirst.org.ua and the e-mail address is: [email protected]
