Kuchma dismisses agriculture minister; major government reshuffle is expected (06/16/96)

Kuchma dismisses agriculture minister; major government reshuffle is expected

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma dismissed Ukraine's minister of agriculture on June 11, making Pavlo Haidutsky the first victim of a major government reshuffle scheduled to take place over the next week.

President Kuchma told Interfax-Ukraine recently that he would lobby for a government with a strong economic center.

"I would like to see a more balanced economic policy, common for the entire government," he noted, adding that the government's priorities would be to resolve the wage payment crisis for state employees, deal with problems in the coal industry and restructure the entire national economy.

President Kuchma told reporters on June 12 that Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko had been given a "free hand" to form a new Cabinet.

"But, I warned him that he will be held responsible for his actions," said President Kuchma.

Presidential Chief of Staff Dmytro Tabachnyk had announced that the new prime minister would finish consultations on forming a Cabinet by June 8, and that no major policy changes would be introduced. However, by the end of the week, no major changes had been announced.

Although he assumed office only two weeks ago, Mr. Lazarenko has already announced that Ukraine's government "intends to make a breakthrough" in the pursuit of reforms via restructuring, privatization and the establishment of a favorable environment for investments.

Commenting on Mr. Haidutsky's dismissal, Prime Minister Lazarenko said the Agriculture Ministry was responsible for huge losses to the Ukrainian economy. The new prime minister proposed a "staff strengthening" at that ministry which would allow it to concentrate on a government program targeted toward modernizing the agrarian industry.

Given Ukraine's rich soil and temperate climate, its agricultural potential is boundless, commented President Kuchma as he visited the "Agro 96" exhibit held near Boryspil this week. Addressing the audience at the inaugural ceremonies of this exposition, President Kuchma expressed hope in Mr. Lazarenko's capabilities, adding that "for the first time in Ukraine, the office of prime minister is being held by a person who has dedicated his life to the countryside."

Mr. Lazarenko has always had close ties to the agrarian sector in Ukraine, starting as a driver at a collective farm in the Dnipropetrovske Oblast before attending the Dnipropetrovske Agricultural Institute and graduating with a degree in agronomy.

He later worked as the chief agronomist of a collective farm in that region, and in 1990 he was elected the head of the Agrarian-Industrial Union of Dnipropetrovske Oblast.

Five or six new ministers are expected to be appointed to the Ukrainian government within the next week, according to an ITAR-TASS report released on June 11. And five or six are expected to be forced to resign or be fired. These include Finance Minister Petro Hermanchuk, Economy Minister Vasyl Hureyev, Industry Minister Valeriy Mazur, and Energy and Electricity Minister Oleksiy Sheberstov.

Mr. Sheberstov was heavily criticized by President Kuchma during a public speech to students at the Ukrainian Government Administration Academy on June 12. The Ukrainian leader noted that Mr. Sheberstov's activities would be reviewed by the Cabinet of Ministers later in the week.

Holovaty allegedly calls it quits

Some sources, including the Prague-based Open Media Research Institute, reported that Serhiy Holovaty, Ukraine's minister of justice, submitted his notice of resignation to President Kuchma on June 10, but neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Ukrainian Legal Foundation, which Mr. Holovaty chairs, were able to confirm this rumor.

Nor has President Kuchma made any public announcement to this effect. Mr. Holovaty had left the country on June 10 to take part in the 10th conference of European Justice Ministers, being held in Budapest this week, and was unavailable for comment. He has promised to call a press conference upon his return to Kyiv.

Mr. Holovaty, one of the main authors of the proposed new Ukrainian constitution, was appointed by President Kuchma to the post of justice minister in September 1995. He told reporters last week that he may resign "if the presidential administration does not approve new provisions for the Justice Ministry in June, which would broaden the authorities of the ministry. If the status and functions of the ministry are not changed, I will have nothing to do with the ministry."

But some political insiders think that the reform-minded Mr. Holovaty is resigning because of his dispute with Prosecutor General Hryhoriy Vorsinov over the inclusion of an article in the new constitution that allows prosecutors to control law enforcement agencies. Mr. Holovaty believes that this would contradict the norms of the Council of Europe.

Still others, such as Mykola Tomenko of the Ukrainian Perspectives Fund, believe that if Mr. Holovaty did not resign, he would be fired.

"Holovaty is not a comfortable minister for the president and his administration, said Mr. Tomenko.

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