Every next elections in Ukraine during the last twenty years were bringing more and more social benefits. According to the information of the official site of Kharkiv city council, the number of social groups with benefits has risen from 18 to 31 in few years. Moreover, although 2012 election campaign hasn't started yet, potential majoritarian candidates in Kharkiv are already giving new promises to improve social sphere and increase benefits and social payments for different groups of citizens.
The most active in creation of social initiatives during last months in Kharkiv is a potential majoritarian candidate from the Party of Regions in district #168, the current MP of Ukraine, Valerii Pysarenko. On the conference "On realization of municipal social project" United social network" in 2011 and on directions of activities in 2012" which was held in March, he said, that "Kharkiv initiatives will have representation at the legislative level", emphasizing, that Kharkiv's experience in implementation of social orders is highly estimated. In April, the deputy published on his official site his appeal to the Prime - Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov with a demand to allocate additional state funds for the city of Kharkov - 825 million UAH, including covered budget items (social sphere also) - 164,1 million UAH. The MP also emphasized in his appeal the necessity of financing from the state budget the construction of Kharkiv subway from the station Oleksiivska to the station Peremoha in the amount of 300 million UAH. Today, according to the first deputy head of Kharkiv oblast state administration, Valentyn Dulub, state subventions in Kharkiv are the following: 45 million UAH - on building, construction, repairs and maintenance of streets and communal roads, and roads of local importance, 212 million UAH - for heating enterprises and 23 million UAH - for water supply enterprises. Therefore, demands of Valerii Pysarenko as the lobbyist of Kharkiv territorial community were obviously not understood on the level of central government.
Nevertheless, the absence of state financing of social sphere didn't influence the growth of benefits in Kharkiv. Valerii Pysarenko initiated many of them. According to the official site of City Council, on the basis of Mr. Pysarenko's appeal Kharkiv city council took a decision to sell half price tickets (90 UAH) for city electric transport financed from the local budget to students of universities with III-IV accreditation levels. Pupils are also going to be able to buy half price tickets for city electric transport. Such benefit will be applicable to all types of city electric transport. Besides that, Valerii Pysarenko informed Kharkiv citizens that he has registered a bill in the parliament concerning the prohibition on privatization of extracurricular children's leisure and aesthetic education facilities, which provides amending the Law of Ukraine On culture, in order to create high social standards for pupils. It worth mentioning, that election district #168 is situated in Dzerzhynsk district of Kharkiv city, which is the scientific and culture center of the city, and has many schools and student hostels.
The MP also managed to create some benefits for old people. For already some years Kharkiv veterans are provided with hearing aid, free prosthesis and cataract surgery, and everything is financed from the local budget.
Valerii Pysarenko initiated one more benefit for this social group – free installation of meters. Hennadii Kernes noted, that devices will be projected, installed and checked for participants of WWII military operations, participants and disabled war veterans, and persons subject to the Law On the status of veterans of war and guarantees of their social protection.
According to the Kharkovskie Izvestiya information-analytical portal, on the meeting of Kharkov city Mayor and MP Valerii Pysarenko with citizens of the district "Instytut Nyzkyh Temperatur", which was held on the beginning of July, officials reported 50 of submitted appeals. Some of them – opening new social drugstore, nursery school, drinking water shop. The Mayor said, that all aforementioned objects will be established for free, and reminded that people may use many other benefits. The drinking water shop was already established. A stand has appeared in the district, informing on behalf of the Kharkiv Mayor Hennadii Kernes and Valerii Pysarenko that a nursery school "Snizhynka" for forty children is going to be opened until 20 October 2012.
The current MP of Ukraine Iryna Berezhna, who is a potential candidate from the Party of Regions in single-mandate district #169 (Kyiv district and a part of Moskov district in Kharkov), is keeping pace with her colleague and fellow party member. Issues of social benefits and privileges for citizens take an important place in her initiatives, which are observed by Kharkiv citizens for already some months. Between her promises are – providing the young with homes and jobs, increasing maternity benefits, low costs on drugs for the pensioners, retirement age reduction, improving social conditions for healthcare workers.
Iryna Berezhna - is a Young deputy, therefore she pays special attention to the young and students. The official media of Kharkiv City council "Kharkovskie izvestiia" informed, that Iryna Berezhna has already conducted more than forty meetings with student boards in universities. According to Ms. Berezhna, her bill On employment of higher education graduates, which provides that employers will not pay taxes for young specialists for one year, and all saved costs will be transferred to wages of young specialists, is being discussed during these meetings. Still, the bill remains nothing but a beautiful promise and wasn't considered in the Verkhovna Rada.
The issue of reasonable prices for houses was raised by the current President after he announced new social reforms during enlarged meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on 7 March 2012, which include providing state mortgage. Taking into consideration that this is an urgent issue for the young, it's not surprising that many majoritarian candidates are trying to solve it, like Iryna Berezhna. She says that she has registered a bill in the Parliament which secures providing houses or assistance in independent construction of dwellings for people aged up to 35 years, financed from the local or state budgets. It is emphasized that the credit for this type of accommodation will be provided for 30 years at 3% per annum. Families with children have a special benefit: a family with one child will pay a quarter less than the required sum, and families which have three or more children - will have to pay only a half of the amount. While the bill is waiting to be considered, the MP of Ukraine encourages young people to use benefits which are already provided by the state more actively.
Another urgent issue of Ms. Berezhna is maternity social benefits. On meetings with citizens of Kyiv district of Kharkiv she is actively speaking about making maternity benefits equal to subsistence level income, an initiative which she has submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers. As well as about the innovative procedure of submitting documents, which can be submitted only be the mother today.
The issue of retirement age is also often mentioned by Iryna Berezhna. A wide reaction to its increasing the last year provokes strong interest of citizens in changing it. Trying to fit the interests of citizens, on the beginning of July Iryna Berezhna have announced that her propositions will be considered by the Parliament in September already. The main idea proposed by the MP is to reduce retirement age for people which work from the age of 18 and pay contributions to pension fund for not less than 41 years. Undoubtedly, the community is not aware that Iryna Berezhna herself supported the bill "On measures to ensure the legislative reform of the pension system" (#7455), during the voting on 16 June, 2012.
Social initiatives of pro-power MP candidates supported by the local government will be advertised at the expense of local communitie
Announcement concerning creation of the Program for providing medicine to pensioners appeared on the official site of Iryna Berezhna in June. This information was presented on the meeting of the potential majoritarian candidate with veteran organization in Kyiv district. According to the MP, everything is needed for the launch of program, is to create a register of pensioners and a list of necessary medication. It was proposed to finance the Program of providing medicine to pensioners from the Pension Fund. Berezhna promises to launch the Program in September, in case bureaucratic schemes will not stand in her way. The beginning of the state program of free medicine for hypertensive persons, financed from the State budget, was also announced to start in September. It’s not surprising, that social promises of this MP is also supported by the local government. In particular, the deputy Mayor on health and social welfare in Kharkiv Svitlana Horbunova-Ruban officially informed, that the list of drugstores is being compiled.
This election campaign one more time involved future MP candidates into social problems of the electorate. Social initiatives of the President have also contributed to raising this urgent issues. The most popular are "people's" issues mentioned in social initiatives of the President of Ukraine on 7 March 2012: decent pensions and wages, increasing subsistence level income, reasonable prices for houses, creating jobs.
Today, when benefits included to the State budget are not fully financed, in Kharkiv all expenses are covered by the local budget and, moreover, new local benefits are being created. It usually happens at the request of local residents on the initiative of current MPs of Ukraine which are going to stand as candidates in single mandate districts of Kharkiv to the Verkhovna Rada of the next convocation, and which are supported by the local government. However, such social initiatives are often financed from the budget of local community. It's going to be the next feature of the election campaign in Kharkiv, when social initiatives of pro-power MP candidates supported by the local government will be advertised at the expense of local communities.
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