The restructuring of the Government has started. Who are its beneficiaries and outsiders?
One reform allows achieving two goals: to demonstrate to Western partners the desire to save public funds and to get rid of administrative ballast
Yesterday, on November 30, the Verkhovna Rada received the resignation of Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov. In the coming days, he will be appointed Deputy Prime Minister. At the same time, he will retain the powers of the head of the Ministry of Infrastructure. He will also begin to supervise the Ministry of Regional Development, which has been "orphaned" after Oleksiy Chernyshov had been transferred to Naftogaz of Ukraine. Thus, he will actually unite the two departments. According to Yaroslav Zhelezniak, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, it will happen before the end of this week.
The news goes beyond just personnel: it opens the season of a significant government transformation. Mind analysed how the reform evolved and what is envisaged in the current innovations plan.
How was the reform launched? Back in the summer Mind reported that a large-scale reorganization of the Cabinet of Ministers was planned by the end of the year. "So far, we have reached the starting point from which we are preparing the restart of the civil service in Ukraine," said Nataliya Alushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine for Civil Service.
Initially, it was planned to cut the number of ministries almost in half – from the current 20 to 12-16, and central executive bodies – by 30%. This plan was presented in July at the investment conference in Lugano. Once again, it confirms the idea that to encourage international donors by showing readiness to "start belt-tightening with ourselves" is one of the goals of the reform.
Even then, it was evident that the Ministry of Infrastructure and its head would have unprecedentedly broad powers. By November, an updated version of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine structure appeared in the media, completely confirming this.
| Perspective Structure (14 ministries) | Current Structure (20 ministries) |
| Ministry of Infrastructure and Territorial Development |
Ministry of Communities and Territories Development Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories Ministry of Infrastructure |
| Ministry of European Integration, Culture and Information Policy |
Ministry of Culture and Information Policy Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine |
| Ministry of Energy | Ministry of Energy |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| Ministry of Justice | Ministry of Justice |
| Ministry of Finance | Ministry of Finance |
| Ministry of Internal Affairs | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Ministry of Economic Development |
Ministry of Economy Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food Ministry for Strategic Industries |
|
Ministry of Digital Transformation |
Ministry of Digital Transformation |
| Ministry of Ecology | Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources |
| Ministry for Veterans’ Affairs and Social Policy |
Ministry for Veterans’ Affairs Ministry of Social Policy |
| Ministry of Healthcare | Ministry of Healthcare |
| Ministry of Defence | Ministry of Defence |
| Ministry of Education and Science | Ministry of Education and Science |
Source: ZN.ua
However, that Kubrakov's status was growing, stuck out a mile even for people who do not have any political insights. He was responsible on the Ukrainian side for the implementation of the "Grain Initiative", in particular, one of the most successful war projects that allowed farmers to export Ukrainian grain and the economy to catch its breath. For comparison: none of the officials from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, who, in theory, should be closer to the topic of grain exports, has even once been present in the port of Odesa after its de-blockading.
Who else may not care about further employment? Members of all agencies protected by the external agenda. Foremost, this is the Ministry of Defence, which, for obvious reasons, no one would dare to touch even minimally. The career of the head of the Ministry of Defence Oleksiy Reznikov was promoted by the results of recent unofficial polls, which showed that Bankova Street had nothing to worry about him.
The Ministry of Healtcare is also fully preserved and even strengthened. However, it is not a matter of fact that the Minister himself may say the same about himself. Viktor Liashko's trump cards are the lack of charisma and, accordingly, political prospects, as well as the fact that there is no queue of active office-seekers for this position. The weak point is complaints about the representatives of his team. Foremost, the Secretary of State, who is characterized by the medical community in an extremely dismissive manner.
The Ministry of Education and Minister Sergiy Shkarlet are also untouchable. Despite all the tides of criticism and efforts of activists, he has a good chance to keep his position. There is no question about the need of the department itself: the topic of education during the war is very acute. It will remain so in the postwar years, when we will have to make up for the lost time spent in basements due to shelling and blackouts.
Who risks being left behind? It should be noted that the outsiders do not include minor ministries. For example, the fact that the Ministry for Strategic Industries will be liquidated is unlikely to be noticed by anyone other than its employees. The same applies to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy – being once among the most influential ones, this department has not regained its importance after it had been liquidated in 2019.
Another thing is the current strong players within the framework of Grushevskoho, 12. Of course, you can call them that, given the conditional subjectivity of the Government.
Foremost, among the losers (though not very big) is Deputy Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko. Yes, she remains the head of the Ministry of Economy, which, even after absorbing a couple of departments – the mentioned Ministry of Agriculture – becomes the second most important, and the minister herself is likely to lose the chance to head the Cabinet of Ministers.
The second outsider is Denys Shmygal, with the only caveat that he has rather nothing to lose. It just became obvious to everyone now. His absence during the recent meetings on Bankova Street (that were invariably attended by Oleksandr Kubrakov) was already quite eloquent and exhaustively characterized the prospects of the current Prime Minister.
It is also significant that the government reform has been developed by the head of the Ministry of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov. It does not mean that Shmygal will leave his post soon, but the price of staying in it may be very high. "They will hang all the ‘rubbish’ on him. Thus, he will have to leave anyway. However, to stay means one can leave with a history of criminal records: the case of Kyrylo Shevchenko is very illustrative," a source close to the Parliamentary Committee on the Organization of State Power and Local Self-Government told Mind.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
