NEWSBRIEFS (01/19/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

National bank to issue treasury bills

KYIV - The National Bank of Ukraine will auction three-month, six-month, nine-month and 12-month discount treasury bills on January 14, said Oleh Belinsky, chief economist of the bank's market and exchange department. The central bank is not setting an issue volume for the paper in advance, he added. At the last three-month T-bill sale on January 10, the bank sold 8.85 million hryvni of paper with an average annualized yield of 47.56 percent. The bank sold 81.72 million hrv in six-month T-bills on January 10 at an average yield of 59.06 percent. Nine-month discount T-bills at an auction of 5.63 million hrv of paper on January 10 yielded 61.11 percent. The bank sold 184,700 hrv of 12-month discount T-bills on January 4, with an average yield of 61.20 percent. (Reuters)

World Bank criticizes corruption

KYIV - World Bank President James Wolfensohn sent a letter to President Leonid Kuchma at the beginning of the year criticizing corruption within the Ukrainian government, Ukrainian Radio reported on January 8. The same day, Vice Prime Minister Viktor Pynzenyk admitted that the problem of government corruption exists, noting that international criticism has begun because of increased foreign investment in the country. He said budgetary laws currently under review would limit opportunities for corruption in the government. He also called for the implementation of tax reform. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Ukraine supports Moldova's integrity

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Hennadii Udovenko said on January 6 that Ukraine "takes the Moldovan side" on the issue of settling the conflict between Moldova and its breakaway Dniester region, Western agencies reported. The comment was made one day after Moldovan President-elect Petru Lucinschi met Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Odesa. During the unofficial talks that took place on January 5, Mr. Lucinschi called on President Kuchma to mediate more actively in the peaceful settlement of the dispute. Mr. Kuchma reportedly expressed Ukraine's support for Moldova's territorial integrity. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Government to control alcohol production

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers is to impose stricter controls over the production and sale of alcohol, Ukrainian Radio reported on January 9. State Food Production head Leonid Svatko said that in the last six months of 1996 Ukraine earned $175 million (U.S.) from alcohol exports. He added that if the state had not regulated the sale and production of alcohol, $120 million of that sum would have remained outside Ukraine. The new regulations include a minimum price for imported alcohol. The state has also stepped up inspections of alcohol vendors, and since the beginning of the year alone more than 2,000 vendors have lost their licenses. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko criticized the government for its "lack of discipline," particularly the Finance Ministry. He said the ministry has already received eight warnings and that a ninth would not be issued. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Draft law on media coverage is vetoed

KYIV - Leonid Kuchma has vetoed the draft law regulating media coverage of the Verkhovna Rada's activities, Infobank reported on January 13. He said the law contravenes the Constitution and gives an unfair advantage to the legislative branch vis-à-vis the executive and the judiciary. He also pointed to the high costs of live TV and radio coverage at the Parliament. Mr. Kuchma proposed that a law be drafted on mass media coverage of all branches of power. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Charter 77 celebrates 20th anniversary

PRAGUE - Charter 77, the former Czecho-Slovak dissident movement, on January 10 commemorated the 20th anniversary of its founding with a series of events in Prague. Czech President Vaclav Havel, one of the first three spokesmen of Charter 77, told a gathering of former signatories that "the [Czech] state no longer denies human rights to its citizens, but human rights are still being occasionally violated." He called for vigilance. Nobel Prize laureates and other important personalities addressed a conference called "The Legacy of Charter 77" held the same day. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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