The joy of parenthood in large families should not become a ticket to poverty – President

At the Khmelnytskyi Regional Development Council, President Petro Poroshenko once again stressed that poverty was an enemy and an obstacle to building a successful and prosperous Ukraine.

“We are well aware that many people live in poverty. And now, when the economy is on the rise again, my program, my plan to overcome poverty has become an absolutely clear and well-designed project,” the President emphasized.

The Head of State noted that in the first place, this would concern pensioners. Steps to combat poverty will include indexing of pensions. “More than 306 thousand pensioners in Khmelnytskyi region in March have already received an increase in indexed pensions. We know that this is not enough. But this has not been done before and this is the first shot at poverty,” he said.

The second step in the fight against poverty will be additional payments during March-April in the amount of 1205 UAH for pensioners with a minimum pension. The President reminded that the means of payment were found due to the customs clearance of the so-called “eurobliakhs”. “These 13.6 billion will give an opportunity now to anyone who receives a minimum pension, to receive 2410 UAH … In Khmelnytskyi region, there are 98 thousand such pensioners, 81 thousand of them have already received this assistance. I control it and it will be done for sure,” he said.

The third step in the fight against poverty is monetization of subsidies. “Previously, subsidies went directly to gas companies. People got nothing from that. We decided to transfer the subsidy directly to the recipient in cash. 70% of these recipients are retired. In Khmelnytskyi region, there are 140 thousand people who will be able to get this money,” Petro Poroshenko said. He reminded that February and March were warm, so the country consumed 32% less gas. At the same time, the amount of subsidies does not change. “This means that 32% of the subsidy can be left to a pensioner,” the Head of State said, adding that with proper economy, a person will be able to save up to 50%.

Separately, Petro Poroshenko noted families with many children who also need support. “The joy of parenthood in large families should not become a ticket to poverty,” the President said. He thanked the Government for the support of his proposal that the minimum subsistence level will be paid for every third and next child. Now it is 1626 hryvnias, from the second half of the year it will equal 1779 hryvnias. According to him, large families help improve the demographic situation in Ukraine.