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DE RUEHKV #0301/01 0571558
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 261558Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KYIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9386
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 000301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/UMB AND EEB/OMA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2020 
TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG PGOV UP
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL ECONOMIC ADVISOR STRESSES NEED FOR 
 
REFORM, CAUTIONS REALISM 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Respected economist and Party of Regions' 
Member of Parliament Iryna Akimova stressed the need for 
fiscal discipline, financial sector reform, and improvements 
to the investment climate during her February 23 meeting with 
the Ambassador.  She also recognized the need to focus on 
tax, land, and other reforms that would address corruption to 
bring growth back to Ukraine.  With a strong sense of 
realism, however, Akimova cautioned that reforms may not 
progress as fast as needed due to uncertainties over the 
formation of a new parliamentary coalition and the 
difficulties of selling tough measures to voters.  Akimova, 
the head of a widely respected think tank funded by Ukrainian 
oligarch Akhmetov, was also Party of Regions' Shadow Minister 
of Economy before being named First Deputy Head of 
Yanukovich's Presidential Administration on February 25.  End 
Summary. 
 
CRUCIAL REFORMS NEEDED 
---------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) During a February 23 meeting with the Ambassador, 
Iryna Akimova, who is a respected economist and Party of 
Regions parliamentary member, identified several key areas 
that need to be addressed as the government tackles economic 
reform: 
-- restore trust in policy and institutions among Ukrainian 
people and international investors; 
-- remedy the fiscal situation by increasing fiscal 
discipline and cutting expenditures; 
-- implement the new state procurement law to reduce 
corruption; 
-- reform the energy sector, including increasing energy 
efficiency before raising tariffs; 
-- restore trust in banking sector; 
-- improve the investment climate, including VAT reform; 
-- implement tax, pension, land, and health care reforms. 
 
FISCAL SITUATION 
---------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Describing the current fiscal situation as "very bad," 
Akimova stressed that fiscal discipline would be very 
important.  She acknowledged that the annulment of the 
controversial social standards law that pushed through 
increases to wages and pensions was unlikely, saying that it 
"somehow must be honored." However, Akimova thought the 
government had other opportunities to cut expenditures and 
increase revenues.  Implementing the new state procurement 
law would help cut expenditures.  She estimated that up to 
70% of government spending had been done without the benefit 
of competitive tender processes and that about one quarter of 
the money that cycled through the public procurement process 
in 2009 (approximately $5 billion) had been "stolen." 
Akimova praised the new state procurement law as a good start 
to secure additional budget revenues and restore fiscal 
order.  Nonetheless, the law was not perfect, she warned, and 
"political will is of utmost importance."  But even with 
government savings, Ukraine would not be able to keep its 
budget deficit below IMF-mandated 4%, Akimova said.  She 
suggested that instead of clinging to an "unrealistic" 
target, Ukraine should produce a clear mid-term plan to 
reduce the current deficit and settle at a more realistic 
number, like 8% or 2010. 
 
ENERGY REFORM 
------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The energy sector remains a key area for reform, as 
subsidies to state gas company Nafohaz continue draining the 
budget.  An increase in gas tariffs to households was 
inevitable, Akimova said, but its timing remained open for 
discussion.  "As an economist, I say raise the tariffs now," 
Akimova said, but cautioned that, politically, this might 
prove a tough call.  Moreover, parliamentary support would be 
necessary to push through the much needed, but unpopular, 
measures.  She suggested that it might be more feasible to 
push through reforms that increase energy efficiency before 
raising gas prices.  Energy efficiency would allow consumers 
to use less gas, thus an increase in prices would be easier 
to accept. 
 
BANKING SECTOR AND MONETARY POLICY 
 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Another critical task for the government is to restore 
trust in the banking sector.  The "situation (in the banking 
sector) is not critical but it is serious," Akimova said, 
stressing that finishing the recapitalization of Ukraine's 
systemic banks, including Nadra Bank, was crucial.  An 
unsolved question, according to Akimova, was the situation of 
troubled small- and medium-size banks, which do not find 
themselves in the too-big-to-fail category.  The discussed 
solutions include creating a government-owned "bad-asset" 
bank or providing additional government support to larger 
banks that could then take over their troubled, smaller 
cohorts.  Akimova liked the idea of creating a "bad bank" 
initially, but she said it may no longer be feasible because 
of the expense of doing so to the government. 
 
¶6. (C) Akimova warned that preventing further devaluation of 
the hryvnia was an important task.  With a large share of 
bank loans denominated in foreign currencies, further 
weakening of the currency could lead to a second wave of 
banking crisis, putting additional pressure on Ukraine's 
fragile economy.  Naming a reliable head of the National Bank 
of Ukraine (NBU) will be crucial to keep maintaining 
responsible monetary policy, Akimova added, saying that the 
last two years of infighting between the government and the 
NBU were "ridiculous." 
 
INVESTMENT CLIMATE / INTERNATIONAL AUDIT 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Since Ukraine has been virtually shut off from 
international capital markets, it needs to attract foreign 
investment to ensure balance of payments, Akimova said, 
stressing the importance of improving the country's 
investment climate.  According to Akimova, the priority for 
the government will be to show it respects property rights. 
She said investors should not have to fear nationalization or 
re-privatization of their assets.  Improving the tax code 
will be another important step, especially addressing 
value-added tax (VAT) arrears.  Akimova elaborated that VAT 
arrears could not all be paid back in 2010, but she hoped the 
government would come up with a plan to resolve the issue. 
In her view, VAT arrears also increased corruption, as 
companies felt the need to resort to other methods for 
receiving refunds.  The government also needed to take steps 
to ease administrative burden in conducting business, 
particularly in the construction sector, Akimova said. 
 
¶8. (C) Commenting on corruption, Akimova opined that while 
results might not be imminent, the government needed a 
"credible story" of dealing with the pervasive problem.  As a 
start, she suggested an international audit of state-owned 
companies such as Ukrzeleznitsya, the national railway 
company, and of certain government ministries.  In her 
opinion, these audits should be done quickly.  She said that 
President Yanukovich planned to use one of the Big Four 
international accounting firms for the audits.  Akimova told 
Acting Economic Counselor on February 26 that she did not 
envision a full audit of public finance by an accounting 
firm, however.  She elaborated that the IMF had already done 
such an audit and would update its look at public finance 
when it returns to Ukraine. 
 
PENSION AND OTHER REFORMS 
------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) Reform of the pension system was necessary, although, 
in a slight shot at current Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko, 
Akimova said that at the time when Yanukovych left office as 
PM in 2007 the pension deficit was zero.  Nonetheless, 
several measures would need to be taken, she said, including 
raising the retirement age and abolishing certain retirement 
privileges.  Akimova offered several ideas on financing 
pension reform, including establishing a "fund for future 
generations" which would accumulate revenues from state 
privatizations or by using profits from the activities of the 
NBU. 
 
¶10. (C) Akimova was less clear on health care reform.  While 
admitting that the current system was unsustainable, she said 
she was unsure of what system would be right for Ukraine. 
Moreover, any alternative proposals would face severe 
resistance from the medical professional lobby, she said. 
 
 
¶11. (C) Commenting on the agricultural land reform, Akimova 
spoke out strongly against the existing status quo.  She 
favors ending the moratorium on agricultural land sales and 
thought this could be achieved within one to two years. 
According to her, the Ukrainian agricultural sector should be 
much more competitive and existing legislation was a barrier 
to its development.  Akimova said that while the status quo 
has many strong supporters, there is also a growing movement 
to change the law, allow land sales, and reform the 
agricultural sector. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12. (C) Speaking as an economist, Akimova emphasized the need 
for economic reforms, the faster the better.  However, as a 
politician, she acknowledged their price and admitted that 
implementation might take longer than desired.  Unlike many 
other Party of Regions' officials, Akimova appears unscathed 
by corruption scandals and is generally considered a capable 
technocrat.  Her appointment as the First Deputy Head of the 
Presidential Administration shows that Akimova has 
Yanukovich's ear and bodes well for the prospect of economic 
reform. 
 
TEFFT