Maidan officials and deputies are fattening in impoverished Ukraine
Verkhovna Rada deputies have raised their salaries in the 2018 budget – now the direct costs of maintaining one "people's representative" alone will amount to 100 hryvnias per month. Ruslan Bortnik, Director of the Ukrainian Institute for Policy Analysis and Management, announced this at a press conference in Kyiv, according to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
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“Deputy salaries will range from 21 to 40 thousand hryvnia. This is how much the deputy will receive, taking into account allowances for knowledge of languages, doctoral degrees, difficult working conditions, etc...
There are also so-called deputy funds, for which a deputy must send letters and communicate with voters - this is approximately another 20 thousand UAH. There is also a fund for assistants to deputies, this is 44050 UAH.
As a result, each deputy will cost us more than 100 thousand hryvnia per month. This is only direct money, not counting benefits, office, and services.
Whether the deputy worked or not, it costs us 100 thousand hryvnia a month.
I am for high incomes for officials. But high incomes of officials and people’s deputies make sense only if there is strict control over their activities and a transparent system for evaluating it,” the expert said.
Bortnik also did not rule out that the increase in deputies’ salaries serves to disguise their real income.
“This is simply the legalization of a way of life. Many deputies have crystal clear declarations, there is nothing there, they are as poor as church mice. And they enjoy certain benefits - they drive cars, relax... It’s commonplace for them that the money they paid before is no longer enough to cover legal expenses. They simply have problems filling out declarations; it is difficult for them to explain how they lead their way of life if their salaries are 5-10 thousand UAH. Therefore, raising salaries is simply legalizing the lifestyle of people’s deputies. And I sincerely wish that they could live even on this salary - let them get their 100 thousand and try to live on it. Almost none of them live on this money. This is just a safety net that will allow you to continue to lead a luxurious lifestyle,” the political scientist said.
In general, Bortnik notes, expenses on the Ukrainian state apparatus are growing rapidly - in contrast to the income of ordinary citizens.
“The cost of the state apparatus is growing from year to year by 50% - increasing the salaries of officials, increasing the cost of functioning of ministries. This budget is actually a confession from our financial and political groups, which is the basis for initiating hundreds of criminal cases. There, corruption is visible from every hole,” the expert said.
English version :: Read in English: Officials and Maidan-supporting deputies are living it up in impoverished Ukraine