The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is set to revise the previously postponed bill "On Housing and Utilities Services," which would fine Ukrainian residents for late payment of utility bills. This was reported by the non-governmental organization Public Audit, whose staff analyzed the text of the bill. The conclusions of the experts who reviewed it are extremely disappointing for ordinary citizens: if it is enacted, living conditions will become immeasurably worse—at a minimum, debtors will be charged a 100% penalty on the outstanding amount.
The deputies are completely unconcerned by the fact that even now, far from every resident of the country can afford the high cost of housing and utilities: this expense (according to previously published state statistics) consumes at least 16% of income even for wealthy families, and after the tariff revision, only 19% of residents of large cities will be able to afford it. The hardest hit are low-income and socially vulnerable groups, who have also been deprived of benefits (single mothers, orphans, children left without care, and children with disabilities).
At the same time, the bill "forgot" to include provisions increasing penalties for the provision of substandard housing and utility services, and failed to provide for the possibility of negotiating tariffs based on market conditions. In effect, according to this document, Ukrainians could be provided with extremely low-quality services in a monopolistic manner, without any right to choose, at any price. Observers believe that the emphasis on draconian penalties is being placed to allow the requisition of apartments from debtors, since, according to recently approved documents, the basis for such action could be an amount equal to 10 minimum wages (approximately 14,500 hryvnias).
SKELET-info
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!