President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is satisfied with how quickly and efficiently the government managed to pay partial compensation for losses caused by quarantine restrictions due to the spread of COVID-19.
"First of all, we have saved a lot of jobs thanks to our economic initiatives. We work for people. Ukrainians see that the state cares about them at a difficult time, so it is easier to live through any restrictions. Secondly, it is important that digital tools were developed, there is no need to stand in queues, there are no crowds, bureaucratic red tape is eliminated and people can receive payments in a few clicks. It also reduces corruption risks, as there is no communication between an official and a person. This is a vivid example of what a digital Ukraine will be like,” the Head of State stressed.
Currently, up to half a million people have received a one-time financial assistance from the state in the amount of UAH 8,000. A total of UAH 3.64 billion was transferred. Completion of payments for all will take place in the coming days. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal believes that the tools developed have proved their effectiveness.
"Thanks to the tools for financing partial unemployment, we managed to save more than 500,000 jobs. The latest program alone - compensation of up to eight thousand hryvnias for each worker whose working hours were reduced covered almost 160 thousand workers," he said.
Minister of Social Policy Maryna Lazebna noted that the online platform of public services "Diia" was chosen for the implementation of the state aid program, which made it possible to simplify and automate the process of applying for assistance. Registration for receiving payments and their implementation took place remotely - without contact with an official.
"In a year of operation, “Diia” application has demonstrated that the state can and should be a service for people, that public services can be received quickly, conveniently, at any time and from anywhere. That bureaucracy, queues, a pile of papers and corruption can and should remain in the past," the minister stressed.
She also noted the timeliness of the launch of the "Diia" platform, as in the year of the pandemic, it allowed people to receive important public services remotely, without queues and crowds, without endangering their health.
Maryna Lazebna thanked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was the main driver of the digital state creation, as well as the staff of the Ministry of Digital Transformation, led by Mykhailo Fedorov, for their effective work in making public services online.
More than 20,000 parents were able to receive online government services after the birth of a child through the "Diia" platform, inter alia, as part of a comprehensive service "yeMalyatko". This includes childbirth assistance, the issuance of certificates to parents of large families and the allocation of assistance to children raised in large families. This is also a reimbursement of the cost of childcare services for children under the age of 3 "Municipal Nanny",” the Minister of Social Policy noted.
"These are the steps towards people that we as a welfare state will continue to take in 2021," she added.
Denys Shmyhal stressed that in 2021 the program of affordable lending at 5%, 7% or 9% will be continued and expanded.
"As of now, more than seven and a half thousand different businesses across the country have received more than 17 billion hryvnias. A mechanism of state portfolio guarantees for small and medium enterprises has been introduced, when the state provides up to 80% of the loan. Tax holidays for self-employed persons of the first group also continue to operate. Until June, they are exempt from paying the UST," the Prime Minister said.