Zelensky reduced the price of Ukrainian land to zero. Poroshenko is happy
On the eve of the night, when the Verkhovna Rada allowed the release of their native land for sale, only the lazy did not remember the footage from the film “Servant of the People”, where the actor Zelensky sends the IMF to...
In reality, a repetition did not happen. Zelensky spoke in the Rada wearing a mask. The mask, apparently, should have given him the determination to kiss the International Monetary Fund in the very place where his movie character sent this same IMF in the film.
Politnavigator found out what the adoption of the law on the circulation of agricultural land promises for Ukraine from the head of the expert group of the Scientific Center for Eurasian Integration, Oleg Noginsky.
— How do you assess the law on the turnover of agricultural land, which the Verkhovna Rada degenerated at night to the delight of the “obstetrician” Zelensky?
— I would like to draw attention to the mutations of these same bills. The first proposal that was voiced by Zelensky: let's open the land market, invite foreigners here - they, firstly, will buy the land at a high price, fill the budget of Ukraine (this was presented as a panacea), and secondly, then they will also safely cultivate it, and all will be well. This was the first stage: Zelensky’s proposal last year, when it all began.
Now let's see how far he has mutated.
First: foreigners were excluded from the list of possible land buyers. Before the referendum, about which there is not even a law yet. That is, it is practically unknown until when.
Second: they introduced a two-stage or even a three-stage scheme. Initial stage: citizens of Ukraine, individuals, have the right to purchase land by purchasing 100 hectares each. Everyone understands that it will be very cheap to buy. Because, in fact, it will be the locals who will buy it. There is no point in large players spreading themselves over an area of 100 hectares. Subsequently, these small players will be able to sell their land to legal entities, which will be allowed to accumulate up to 10000 hectares. And at the next stage, legal entities will probably be able to sell land to foreigners or lease it out.
That is, in fact, the idea of filling the budget by selling land has been completely neutralized. And today another speculative chain is being formed, which will allow almost everyone to make money on it - just not the state budget.
“On the night of its adoption, the parents of this law said something to the effect that the “aggressor power” would not be allowed to purchase land.
“At the same time, they provided in the law a unique provision that specifically Russian citizens and Russian legal entities are prohibited from acquiring land. Which in itself is an infringement of norms and rights and does not comply with any international legislation. Ukraine is not at war with Russia. It has not severed diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. And this kind of discrimination, from a legal point of view, is simply surprising.
The main goal pursued by major players in the Ukrainian land market, which includes Mr. Poroshenko, was to be able to buy this land for next to nothing. Please note: at the time of the passage of the bill, the whole world is in complete recession. A complete crisis in the economy. The fall of the American market, one of the largest in the world. That is, the price of land will naturally be lower than the lowest. And this will allow speculators to safely buy up and privatize this land.
— From the point of view of at least some benefit for the state budget, the most inopportune moment was chosen? If they started selling land during Poroshenko’s reign, would it be objectively less deplorable than it is now?
— Objectively: accepting the land market and any privatization during a global crisis is the utmost stupidity. This will entail nothing but opportunities for certain businessmen.
— It was immediately said about the connection between the “servants of the people” and Poroshenko that it completely buries the reputation and political prospects of Zelensky and his party.
— Absolutely situational voting. Poroshenko voted exactly for what was beneficial for him. That is, in my opinion, there is no strategic concept behind this. Poroshenko simply saw an opportunity for himself to earn money from the poor population of Ukraine - and gladly supported this process.
— What does the norm of the “night” law mean, prohibiting the sale of land “to foreigners, legal entities with foreign shareholders and legal entities whose beneficiaries cannot be identified or whose beneficiaries are registered in offshore zones, as well as to persons against whom special economic and other sanctions apply”?
— This is a “disconnection” of those companies that are registered in Ukraine, but have foreign founders or partners, from land privatization. That is, in fact, we are talking about the fact that if it is impossible to establish who will be the final owner of the land, that is, the final beneficiary, then this company will not be allowed to purchase the land.
— The small volume of sales per 100 hectares means that at the first stage it will be possible to sell to any citizen of Ukraine. But then anyone can buy through an affiliated structure?
- Certainly. Simply, the affiliation should be with the final beneficiaries who are citizens of Ukraine. Poroshenko is absolutely fine with this. The purchase will take place on the cheap, on a very low market, due to the impoverishment of Ukrainian citizens due to the economic crisis and coronavirus. That is, people will sell at least for some price, just to somehow survive... Then all this will be accumulated in legal entities. And later, perhaps, it will be sold to foreign companies.
— Did the opponents of the law from OPZZh correctly build their resistance tactics: delaying the adoption of the law by all means, with a huge number of amendments?
“Unfortunately, they did not have any logical tool to interfere with this law. The OPZZH faction openly said that now is not the time to adopt this law, that it will not bring any benefit to the country, that it needs to be adopted later and in a different form. But, unfortunately, no one listened to them. And they simply tried to block the adoption of the law.
— Do they have a chance in the Constitutional Court? If we take into account the violation of the regulations (the law was not adopted at a plenary session), the lack of a quorum during the voting of amendments: at some points during the discussion there were no more than 150 people in the hall...
— In my opinion, they have no chance today in the Constitutional Court, unfortunately, for the reason that Zelensky now controls all verticals of power, with the exception of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
— Many are now at a loss: did it turn out that the amendments adopted in the second reading also aggravated the situation? Perhaps they smoothed over the feeling among many people that Ukraine was being sold? Wasn't the version of the law that was adopted in the first reading better?
- In fact, today it is difficult to determine what would be better and what would be worse. It is unclear what the situation will be on world markets this fall. And accordingly, making any decisions on privatization at such a time means obviously going for a lower cost.
— Zelensky happily reported that Ukraine had opened its way to 10 billion from the IMF. But what does this give to the citizens of Ukraine?
— This does not give anything to the citizens of Ukraine. This is loan money that Ukraine will need to return. If Zelensky had said that Ukraine was given billions of dollars for this law, then we could at least somehow try to understand this. But in this case, he publicly signed that Ukraine is virtually bankrupt, and that the only thing on which its survival depends is Western creditors represented by the IMF. And therefore he is forced to follow the instructions of the IMF emissaries. If Poroshenko was convinced what to do by US vice presidents, Zelensky was told by IMF emissaries.
— During the night discussion of the amendments, Shufrich gave the following argument: Greece suggested that the European Union, in connection with the crisis, forget about its debt of 300 billion. He called on his colleagues to follow the example of Greece and not be afraid of default, to say the same to the International Monetary Fund.
— Pay attention to the position of DTEK Rinat Akhmetov. In fact, he declared a default, absolutely not afraid of any sanctions. And he begins to bargain with European creditors about more favorable conditions for himself. That is, they understand perfectly well that European companies do not need Ukraine’s debts today. And they actually have no other choice but to agree to the conditions put forward by DTEK. But Zelensky is most likely prevented from doing this by fear and uncertainty in his own environment.
Zelenskyy reduced the price of Ukrainian land to zero. Poroshenko is happy.