President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges the Verkhovna Rada to remove from the Law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Resumption of Contests for Civil Service Positions and Other Civil Service Issues” of February 16, 2021 the provisions restricting the performance of powers by deputy ministers, if the position of the minister is vacant.
The Head of State returned the law to the parliament with his own proposals.
The President supports the need to resume contests for civil service positions that have been suspended due to restrictive measures caused by the spread of coronavirus.
At the same time, Volodymyr Zelenskyy draws the Verkhovna Rada's attention to the fact that the provisions concerning the performance by the First Deputy Minister or Deputy Ministers (during the vacant ministerial position) of only certain powers of the Minister are unacceptable, as they violate constitutional norms on appointment of the Government of Ukraine by the Prime Minister.
"If people's deputies do not appoint a minister for a long time - and we have seen this many times - these provisions of the law will lead to paralysis of the entire ministry. In a country at war, a country struggling with the COVID-19 crisis, when a decision must be made immediately, this is unacceptable," Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted.
Therefore, the Head of State offers the parliament to remove these provisions and counts on the full support of the people's deputies.