Ordinary drivers explain to the minister and the Cabinet of Ministers why Ukraine's roads are in disrepair.
“Let the child amuse himself with anything, as long as he doesn’t work…”
(paraphrased popular proverb)
State tourism
“Ukraine has ambitious plans for the development of national transport infrastructure and participation in international logistics,” said Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Vladislav Krikliy at the time of his speech. at the maritime and logistics activities Qatar Maritime & Logistics Summit 2020 today, May 18, 2020, near Doha (State of Qatar).
Well said! But what did our minister actually do there, in Doha, other than issue this "statement"? And what was he doing before that in Davos—at the economic forum? The minister still can't explain Ukraine's connection to international maritime logistics, even after participating in this "otherworldly" conference. Nor can the "delegation members" who "checked in" at Doha's finest hotels at the state's expense explain it.
Ukrainian Cabinet ministers generally don't publish reports on their business trips, and most importantly, the results of these voyages, despite traveling abroad regularly. They likely don't do so only because there are no results; they chatted about nothing, partied at the government's expense, and then went their separate ways. A lavish reception at the expense of the organizers and Ukrainians. It's blatant, cynical VIP tourism at the expense of taxpayers. I've already written about this regarding the previous Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan.
We have to write about the current minister. Well, why couldn’t the same phrase – “Ukraine has ambitious plans for the development of national transport infrastructure and participation in international logistics” – be announced without leaving Kyiv? Not clear. The result for international organizations and potential investors would be equally the same. That is, zero.
Why?
Are there any successes in infrastructure? Does Ukraine have anything to attract investors with, other than the rather questionable, teenage charisma of our ministers?
Roads - according to the investor!
One aspect has been going on for years, if not decades.
This is a completely failed road weight control on the roads of Ukraine.
Five years ago, former Minister V. Omelyan (young, promising, energetic :)) personally asked me what needed to be done first in infrastructure. I replied, "Road weight control. If we don't implement it now, we'll be destroying the roads with overloads for another year." He replied, "Yes, I understand. Don't get upset now, we'll have it all done in a year!" I'll explain what we did below.
Contact with the minister was lost after justified criticism for inaction. The situation had to be described in the media: Example 1, Example 2, Example 3, Example 4. And many similar publications by other competent authors.
And now we have a new Minister of Infrastructure, and once again, there's ZERO understanding of the problem. And once again, we have to explain and describe.
The situation with weight control in the country can be described more simply and clearly using examples from recent driver chats:
Long-haul drivers send each other thousands of messages on social media every day about the failure of weight control on our roads! They monitor the situation on the roads and share messages about where and when government officials have taken to the highway to weigh them or simply rob them, extorting bribes.
Not a single kilometer of Ukrainian roads goes unmonitored by the driving fraternity! Most often, they exchange messages about where scales are, whether they're working, or just not working.
Fare prices rarely "slip" through chats. Each post and destination has its own set of extortion rates. These are established. Police and weight control inspectors are most often called "beggars." If you're overloaded, but need it urgently, and the driver is willing to "cover up," then go. If you're tight on cash, you can wait for the "inspectors" to leave (see below).
The messages below already mention the rates. Some charge 100 hryvnias, others 500. But 100 or 500 hryvnias isn't for the weight check, it's paid directly to the police. They're also called "hoofed." Given the country's top police officer's tenure, the schemes and extortions remain, and drivers' correspondence is the best proof of this!
Drivers and concerned individuals are registering a petition on the Cabinet of Ministers' website: "Stop overloading! Protect roads and honestly compete for business." Without a petition, the Cabinet of Ministers and ministers are supposedly unable to understand the situation! They claim they don't understand the problem! Even with the petition, it doesn't seem like they're even paying attention or understanding...
Drivers also don't want to carry overloads; they're forced by competition: if they, the honest ones, can't handle the load, those willing to make money off of overloads will. The government doesn't protect honest truckers in any way, but it bribes the dishonest ones. And the job market isn't exactly great right now, so there's no time to choose.
Therefore, weight control on Ukrainian roads today is a legalized, thieving "scheme" that feeds officials from the Ministry of Infrastructure and the National Police.
Roads that were declared repaired a year ago are already rutted by overloaded trucks. For example, the repaired N11 road is already rutted! And that's only towards the Mykolaiv port! If you're interested, take a drive along the stretch between Kazanka and Novyi Bug toward Mykolaiv. Ruts, not ruts, are already visible! What will happen by summer? Or after summer? There are already hundreds of such examples across the country! Alongside the glowing reports about tens of billions of dollars allocated for road repairs...
But... Infrastructure officials are happily flying around Doha and Davos... It turns out that this is where Ukrainian infrastructure problems are being solved!
In the meantime, we urgently need:
Permanent, 24-hour weighbridges on all highways across the country. No matter how much it costs, road repairs are still many times more expensive!
Constant physical control at key truck loading and unloading points (documentary control, e-waybills, and customs acceptance of cargo only with e-waybills, etc.)
A complete reboot of the Ukrainian Transport Safety Agency and the National Police, focused not on constant extortion and bribes from overloaded trucks, but on stopping anyone who tries to drive on the highway with an overload. They found a way to shut down all gambling halls in the country with just a few actions, didn't they? Turn on the turbo on this weight issue too! It's far more important for the country!
Once again: the problem of overloaded vehicles on Ukrainian roads must be resolved immediately, effectively, and permanently! Even if it requires a new infrastructure minister. Someone with a clear head on their shoulders. The industry needs a minister who understands the problem and is focused on solving it, not on Doha and Davos.
We are losing roads by appointing “pocket” but incompetent ministers.
The cost of personnel errors is billions of dollars, a lack of investment and, in general, prospects for the country.
Alexander Zakharov, especially for the publication "Argument"
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