VoxUkraine economists comment on the position of the Radical Party of Oleh Lyashko, which is against lifting the moratorium on sale of land, referring to the danger of selling land for nothing “to foreigners and big landowners”. On the other hand, it provides data on the growth of agricultural output despite the moratorium.
Does the local government in Ukrainian cities work well? How willingly does it respond to citizens’ inquiries? How transparent is the local budget? Experts of the International Centre for Policy Studies presented the result of the research within the project “Transparent, financially healthy and competitive local governments in Ukraine” . In the framework of the project three rantings were built:
1st – financial health of the the regions and the regional centers of Ukraine;
2nd – transparency of Ukraine’s 50 largest cities;
3rd – competitiveness of the regions based on their business environment.
Each group has a different winner.
Primary health care reform in Ukraine seems to be well thougth out. However, there is a number of factors that might hinder its implementation. Will be there enough family doctors for all citizens? Who shall bear costs for services? What is a guaranteed package of medical services and what are the challanges the Ministry of Healthcare will face with the implementation of the reform? Expert of the Institute for Social and Economic Research Igor Yakovenko explains.
From December 2-12, 2016 the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation together with Ukrainian Sociology Service firm conducted a nationwide sociological survey “Education in Ukraine” on issues of the state of education, corruption in education and the attitudes of citizens to the External Independent Testing (EIT).
Approximately one-third of the respondents noted that the most serious problem with higher education in Ukraine in 2016 was the corruption of the teaching personnel in high schools (37%, in 2015 this figure was 50%), the non-recognition of diplomas conferred by Ukrainian high schools in other countries of the world (34% versus 47% in 2015), the non-compliance of teaching standards with the requirements of the labor market (32%, the same as last year) and the weak material technical base of high schools (32%, in 2015 – 27%).
Constitutional justice in Ukraine remains by now extremely week and ineffective. In the last 20 years, the Constitutional Court experienced interference in or blockades of its work by authorities, which also happened to use it for consolidation of their power. As a result, the Constitutional Court is now professionally weak, politically dependent and in general ineffective.
To address the current state of constitutional justice in Ukraine the Centre of Policy and Legal Reform identified eight areas of reform of the Constitutional Court which shall be significantly developed.
Which social promises did the Ukrainian Government fulfill in 2016 and which it did not? Read the analytics on social services, state assistance and the fight against the deficit of the Pension Fund of Ukraine in the article of the Chief of social programs of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Marianna Onufryk.
According to the expert, progress in reforms in the social sphere is really noticeable, and a more concrete vision of the state of a new model of social policy emerges.
This study addresses one of the most important issues of the current political debate in not only Ukraine, but also the world, namely the relation between money and politics. The author of the paper, Oleksii Sydorchuk, a political analyst at the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, has taken a thorough look at existing shortcomings and challenges of the new model and practices of political finance and has come up with a number of recommendations.
The Civl Network „OPORA“ interviewed 50 long-term observers who worked during the first elections in united territorial communities of Ukraine to determine the quality of work of precinct election commission (PEC) members . They found out that the main reasons of mistakes and violations by PEC members was irresponsible attitude to their duties, insufficient knowledge or inability to apply it in practice.
Read more to find out what the main violations were and how the legislation is used in practice.
Electronic petitions as a democratic mechanism of interaction between government and society is currently practiced in more than 70 countries around the world. Ukraine introduced this mechanism just over a year ago. The Association for Community Self-Organization Assistance reviewed the state of implementation of and the first experience with e-petitions in 22 regional centers of Ukraine. Attention to these cities is not accidental. Among all the communities in Ukraine they have the greatest potential for successful use of e-petitions, so their experience is exemplary.
Freedom of assembly plays a special role in Ukraine. Since independence, the country has seen massive demonstrations and violent suppression by authorities. The Euromaidan protests, which represent the tragic culmination of this recent history, brought a breakthrough in a citizen’s right to assemble freely.
Experts from the Centre of Policy and Legal Reforms Roman Kuybida and Maksym Sereda jointly with the Democracy Reporting International (Germany) look at the long-lasting gap in terms of clear legal framework for the conduct of peaceful assemblies in Ukraine, respective court decisions and recent attempts to clarify the constitutional guarantees to assemble freely.