Klitschko: split of responsibilities and dual power in Kyiv unconstitutional and anti self-government

As Kyiv mayor outlined in his press conference on 26th of July, attempts to split responsibilities between a mayor and a head of Kyiv State Administration are undemocratic and unconstitutional. They can lead to denial of self-governance for Kyiv and jeopardise the decentralization achievements.

He emphasized that today Kyivans are being deprived of not only their right to elect their local government but also the tools of democratic participation and resident empowerment, which have successfully been launched in Kyiv, including the Open Budget, ProZorro e-procurement system, Participatory Budget and the city-owned properties auctioning. “The Kyiv City Council cannot vote by proxy – three years ago we have installed a voting tool which controls the voting by personal appearance,” said the mayor.

He stressed that all these innovations are being launched and maintained by the elected city government.  Functionaries passed down rather than elected by Kyivans bear no responsibility whatsoever towards the community.

“This situation is not about the names or my clinging to this job. It is all about key principles. This situation attacks the local self-governance and not only here, in Kyiv. Let’s remember that Kyiv is where it all starts,” emphasized Klitschko.

“As I said, a division of responsibilities is unconstitutional. Now there are attempts to juggle the Constitution and the Law of the Capital City, while saying that they are perfectly legal. Let me remind that back in 2003 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine ruled that the Kyiv State Administration has to be chaired by an elected mayor rather than an appointed functionary,” stressed Klitschko.

Together with his brother Wladimir Vitali Klitschko has filed a lawsuit against 1+1 TV channel for libel. According to Klitschko, every single day this broadcaster bad-mouths him and even his brother. “‘1+1’ is hardly unbiased since its CEO both represents a political party and is recognized candidate running for Kyiv State Administration,” he said.

“There is plenty of fierce mudslinging, a slander, inspired by Yanukovych’s allies. I will be defending myself against defamatory attacks in court. I don’t care about whoever runs for state administration. But I won’t let anyone to damage my reputation which has beendeveloped over years,” announced Klitschko.

He gave some examples of such manipulative information. One of them is related to the cost of a new pedestrian and cycle bridge. “The bridge doesn’t cost ₴400 million. This is the total cost of some projects. Bridge building totals ₴270. Besides, we have settled up for only ₴210 million materials used for construction. The rest of funds still remain in the city’s account,” he commented. He underlined that upon the city’s request, the Kyiv Audit Office and the Kyiv Forensic Institute are performing a construction cost audit. Later the National Anti-Corruption Bureau will also review the construction cost efficiency.

According to Klitschko, another example is a construction of Shulyavsky overpass. “The work there remains on track. But now we grapple an intentional delay in the factory building No. 5 demolition which leads to sluggish progress on the project. For over a year now we have been ineffectually discussing this issue with the government and the State Property Fund,” he said.

Also Kyiv mayor briefed the journalists about the city’s achievements during the past years. “ We have tripled the budget revenues and managed the finances well enough to avoid bankruptcy. We have built 26 kindergartens and eight schools, overhauled 41 hospital units and five maternity hospitals. We have repaired almost 900 kilometers of roads, and we are continuing with our plans to renovate them. We have revamped over 360 parks and squares. Over 130 land plots have been granted with protected ‘green’ status by the city council. We have introduced 134 trolleybuses, 63 new trams and 100 buses. 189 new ambulance cars available now for Kyiv Emergency Healthcare. These are only some of positive outcomes which Kyivans see,” mentioned Vitali Klitschko.

Kyiv mayor highlighted the importance of further citizen empowerment. “No European country or city have an appointed local government. Municipal authorities are elected by the people directly,” said Vitali Klitschko.