Parliament postpones CIS debate, reviews 1995 budget implementation (12/17/95)

Parliament postpones CIS debate, reviews 1995 budget implementation

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - After weeks of bickering, the Ukrainian Parliament decided on December 12 to postpone debate on the issue of Ukraine's accession to the Inter-Parliament-ary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States until after the 1996 budget is reviewed by the legislature.

The final debate and vote on accession to the Assembly has now been scheduled for February at the latest, after the budget for 1996 is endorsed by the Parliament, announced Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz on December 12.

On Monday evening, December 11, during the regular meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Council, leaders of the Parliament's standing committees were at a loss as to how to break the stalemate that has paralyzed the Parliament for three weeks. They could only suggest that the leader of the Supreme Council try to bring it up again, at least for debate.

At the start of the morning session on Tuesday, December 11, it looked as though the legislature would be in for more of the shenanigans it had experienced in late November and the first week of December, as deputies of right-wing factions refused to register.

Chairman Moroz accused the deputies of trying to provoke a parliamentary crisis, but Vyacheslav Chornovil, leader of the Rukh faction, told fellow deputies "it would be premature to discuss the issue until after the legislative body knows the outcome of parliamentary elections in Russia," which are scheduled for December 17.

Finally, on the fifth try - and only after Chairman Moroz gave his solemn word that a vote on the issue would not be taken - did the necessary quorum register. Two hundred seventy-one deputies listened to Parliament Deputy Chairman Oleh Diomin deliver an address on the benefits for Ukraine if it were to join the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.

After his speech the issue was closed, and the deputies took part in "Government Day" in Parliament, during which they had the opportunity to question government ministers on their recently submitted 1996 budget.

According to deputies in the Parliament, a cursory review of the newly submitted budget shows that for 1996 the main goals for the economic and social development of Ukraine include stabilization of production, creation of conditions conducive to economic growth and halting the decline of citizens' living standards.

On Thursday, December 14, the Parliament discussed amendments to the 1995 budget, based on the experience of the last 10 months.

The Parliament's Budget Committee proposed that a vote of no confidence be given to the ministers responsible for various aspects of that budget and their failure to achieve 1995 budget targets.

According to Mykola Azarov, chairman of the Budget Committee, his group will propose that a vote of no confidence be given to Viktor Pynzenyk, vice-premier in charge of economic reforms, who was responsible for drafting the 1995 budget, and Yevhen Dovzhok, head of the State Committee for Oil, Gas and Oil Refining Industry, for failing to collect payments for oil and natural gas supplies, reported Interfax-Ukraine.

| Home Page |