May 15 marks 100 days since Volodymyr Bondar took office as head of the regional state administration. So the time has come to make the first analysis of his team's work and to sum up, as is customary to say, the first results. So, a self-assessment and analysis in an interview that Volodymyr Nalkovych gave to a correspondent of "Volyn." \n \n — Volodymyr Nalkovych, let's begin not with an analysis of what has been done and what has been left undone, but with a somewhat unconventional angle — how do your current feelings and mood differ from the feelings and mood of Volodymyr Bondar one hundred days ago? \n \n — They are somewhat different, of course. Now I have formed a complete picture of what exists in the region and what needs to be done. Back then there was no holistic picture. As for my mood, it is the same as it was then — we need to work. Whether it's a hundred days or a thousand days, however long I may have to work in this position, I know one thing — you have to go to work and work with inspiration. \n \n I believe that today we are laying the foundation of a new government. This is not done in a single day, but the personnel revolution continues. We have defined the strategy of our activity and the directions of the region's development. There is a foundation for serious work. \n \n – Has the new administration already been fully formed? \n\n — The composition of the administration has not yet been formed. The Cabinet of Ministers has just adopted a resolution on the standard structure of local government, including regional and district administrations. But even before this, we changed these structures. We base our work not on the sectoral principle but on the functional one. The departments of the regional state administration will operate according to this principle. A new department of economics will become such a functional unit. We are also changing the principles of work in the humanitarian sphere. All heads of humanitarian departments have gone through a system of public hearings. Such hearings will also be held at the district levels. \n \n I believe that the government has become open. From this office over these hundred days, not a single phone call has been made to any mass media outlet telling them how to cover this or that event, what should or should not be written about. I present my point of view to the media at meetings that take place every month. \n \n — How is interaction between the regional and district state administrations organized? \n\n — I believe we have established good, purely human relations with most administrations. The people working there are those with whom we cooperated closely during the election campaign. Although in the district state administrations, teams have only just begun to form. Only the leadership of the agricultural sector has been fully staffed, and the way the sowing campaign went in Volyn shows that competent specialists have come. Now we will develop new connections and new traditions. The task is this — there must be human relations combined with firm executive discipline. \n \n — And what, in your opinion, is the situation of the executive power in those districts where there were conflicts, in particular in Shatsk and Stara Vyzhivka? \n\n — The situation has stabilized. In Shatsk district, a compromise was reached on many issues. We will act with tough methods regarding the already conducted distribution of land. There, poaching has effectively been legalized, and we will fight it toughly as well. There has been, I believe, a qualitative change of personnel in Stara Vyzhivka district. If someone is not satisfied with this either, then so be it — my appointment does not satisfy everyone either. \n\n — A new consultative-advisory council has been created under the head of the regional state administration. And what are the relations of the new government with the political forces in the region? In particular, people speak of difficult relations between the regional state administration, yourself, and the leadership of the regional organizations of the Ukrainian People's Party and "Batkivshchyna." \n\n – I see no problems whatsoever in relations with the regional leadership of the UNP and "Batkivshchyna." The issue here, as in relations with other parties, is one and the same — someone wanted to occupy this or that seat and did not succeed. I can offer advice — roll up your sleeves and work, and the dream will certainly come true. \n\n — The main thing your opponents reproach you for, including at the May Day rallies, is the failure — for the first time in many years — to fulfill the regional budget for the first quarter. Why did this happen and how will it be going forward? \n\n — To those who reproach us for not fulfilling the budget, I will say that we came and took power in a region where the previous government forced people to pay sums a year in advance. We cannot act by the same methods — forcing people to pay taxes in advance and twisting entrepreneurs' arms. We took a different path. We have a new leadership of the tax administration in the region and a plan for filling the budget. I give you my word that the budget will be fulfilled over the year. \n\n — In Volyn, as everywhere in Ukraine, social relations are being corroded by corruption. How do you plan to fight this evil? \n\n — Corruption is still a problem, and this must be said frankly. And it is still a problem because, unfortunately, it is covered up by the very bodies that are supposed to fight it. I mean first of all the regional prosecutor's office. People who are themselves lawbreakers still hold leadership positions there. Unfortunately, the regional prosecutor cannot restore order in his own department. I have great reservations about the work of the justice department; it gives the impression that it too is covering up lawbreakers. There are serious problems with solving economic and political crimes. The murders of police officers and the disappearances of people remain unsolved. One gets the impression that as soon as a case concerning people from the former government, or those with big money, reaches the prosecutor's office, it is closed. \n\n — But then the question arises — to what extent can the regional government influence the leadership of those departments and bodies that are appointed from Kyiv? \n\n — I will seek the replacement of the leadership of the prosecutor's office and the regional justice department. I believe that people have no moral right to hold these positions in bodies that stand on the side of the law. The presence of these people in government bodies becomes a litmus test of the new government's readiness for deep changes. \n\n — And what is the leadership style of Volodymyr Bondar? \n\n — Style is developed over the years. I have not gone through all the levels of government that shape a leadership style. But if someone thinks that a democratic style means weakening demands, then I must disappoint them — no one will be indulged in anything. Our government should not be one that people fear, but neither should it be all-forgiving. And that this position is not empty words, many people will soon feel. \n\n — How do business representatives and the old government react to your leadership style? \n\n — Business — normally. If you pay taxes — no problems arise. From old officials I had to hear — "The Frenchman didn't squeeze us and Bondar won't squeeze us either." I don't want to wage a personal war with anyone, but I warn you — for every decision and illegal move, you will have to answer. \n\n — What are your relations with the President and the Prime Minister? \n\n — I have had several meetings with the President. Once a month he gathers the heads of regions, as does the Prime Minister. The President has called several times when urgent work issues needed to be resolved. Now the Presidential Secretariat has developed a schedule for the head of state to receive heads of regional state administrations. In the near future I will report to the President on the affairs and problems that exist in the region and the ways to solve them. In June, Viktor Andriyovych will come to Volyn, and even before that, Yulia Volodymyrivna should visit us. \n\n — Previously there was a problem of lobbying for money for the region in Kyiv. How is it now? \n\n — Previously this really was a problem. But now the budgets of all communities are approved in Kyiv in the State Budget. And such a concept as "lobbying for funds" has disappeared. We have problematic issues that need to be resolved. These are the problems of "Volynvuhillya," in particular, the tenth mine. But I think we should gradually move to completely different forms — attracting cheap credit resources. The budget should work for the social sphere, where everything should be laid out so clearly that no official can change anything. After the administrative-territorial reform is carried out, everything will generally remain locally and the need to travel anywhere for funds will disappear. \n\n — During this time you have received several hundred people. What was the biggest problem that emerged? \n\n — The housing problem. People have nowhere to live and no prospects. It is regrettable that Lutsk does not have a serious housing construction program. I consider it my priority task to help solve this problem. \n\n — I must ask a question that our readers have asked us. There have already been calls about your parliamentary mandate. And you supposedly said, in connection with the filing of a lawsuit against dual-mandate deputies, that when you have to choose between being a people's deputy and head of the regional state administration, you would choose the parliamentary mandate. And how is it really? \n\n — I in turn would ask the people of Lutsk a question: and who do you want me to work as? As for me personally, I will work where the person I campaigned for and whom I believe boundlessly tells me to. I mean the President of Ukraine. I will work in the area that the President entrusts to me. As long as he believes that I should work in the position of head of the regional state administration — I will work. And I don't think that the people of Lutsk don't need me as a people's deputy. But when the problem of choice arises, I will tell the President: I will work where I am more needed by you. \n\n — What will be a priority for you, as they used to say, at the 101st kilometer? \n\n — The same things that were important before the hundredth kilometer. It is important for us to maintain a high purchase price for agricultural products. We have started sowing more land. We have started working on increasing the number of livestock in the region. The promised foreign investments are already coming in. I believe that we will overcome corruption and resolve the problems with law enforcement agencies. \n\n — And about your closest associates. Are you satisfied with the work of your deputies? \n\n — Most of my deputies are a find. Bohdan Shyba successfully works on payments for energy carriers and is responsible for the situation in the region's energy market. He is resolving the difficult situation with "Volynvuhillya." Everything related to administrative reform is under his purview. Vitaliy Zaremba works just as successfully with new people, the heads of the main department of agriculture, land relations, and veterinary medicine. Volodymyr Karpuk is completely changing the structures and relations that have developed in the humanitarian sphere. In particular, in healthcare, education, and social protection. You will see the results soon. \n\n What remains is to organize the work of the new department that will replace the departments of internal policy, press and information, and the department of relations with the media and the public. We are already completing the formation of this department. Vasyl Baytsym is laying the foundations of a new economic bloc. Here the most changes have to be made. But this bloc will also work in a fundamentally new way. Vitaliy Maksymyak is the manager of affairs, and I do not regret keeping him from the old team. I believe that he was an accidental person in that team. \n\n — Your biggest find during this time and your biggest disappointment? What would you like to wish the people of Volyn? \n\n — The biggest disappointment is the bureaucracy of officials and the legislation that protects those who have no right to hold certain positions. This is a problem both for Volyn and for Kyiv. But we will solve this problem in the next hundred days. And what is joyful is that I have become convinced: humanity is never superfluous. When you work toughly, there comes a moment when human problems stop interesting you. I don't want to work that way. I want to achieve that Ukraine unites people of all generations. It is faith in the possibility of this that I wish to all the people of Volyn. \n \n \nVolodymyr LYS