President of Ukraine

Land and healthcare reforms will be completed - President in a conversation with Bloomberg

10 March 2020 - 20:21

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stresses that land reform and reform of the healthcare system will be completed and the government will improve communication with the public on sensitive issues of these reforms.

“Land reform is a reform of both the President and the Government - we are all responsible. It is the most difficult reform, because in almost 30 years, no one could even begin the discussion of the bill (on the agricultural land market - ed.) in committees. We will finish this reform,” the Head of State said in an interview with a Bloomberg journalist.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that voting for the land market bill in the second reading was only the first stage of land reform. In the future, it is necessary to adopt a law on the referendum and regulate land cadastres.

The President also considers it expedient to restore the Ministry of Agrarian Policy. “After all, such a complicated thing as land reform requires separate people in Ukraine, a separate institution. This is what the respective minister should say and do,” the Head of State noted.

At the same time, the President is convinced that despite the opposition's resistance and blocking with amendments spam, the law on the agricultural land market will be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada.

“This is indeed the most difficult draft law. We have thousands of amendments there. We can only demand and work,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed.

As for the healthcare reform, the President believes the resistance to its implementation is caused by misunderstanding of the peculiarities of changes that will take place. The President expressed content with the first stage of the healthcare reform, which made it possible to increase the salaries of general practitioners, improve material and technical conditions of medical institutions and increase transparency of financing of the healthcare system.

At the same time, the Head of State emphasized the need to improve communication between the government and society, to clarify the details of land and healthcare reforms.

According to him, it is unacceptable for the government to fail communication when radical changes are taking place in the country.

"It's not about your personal ratings, not about your possible “demolition”, it's about the possibility that the country may not have a chance anymore," the President emphasized.