From what this team worked on, the head of the regional state administration singled out three main problems. The first of them is the problem of strategic planning. The strategic plan for the socio-economic development of the region was worked on quite seriously, it was approved by the session of the regional council, and now they will move on to tactical plans. The second direction is personnel. The composition of the new structure of the regional state administration has already been proposed to the Cabinet of Ministers. All heads of district state administrations and 80 percent of their deputies have been replaced. Next in line is the change of heads of departments in the region and districts. The third direction (or problem) is establishing elementary order in all spheres of life of the region. This includes labor discipline, budget discipline, payment for energy carriers, targeted use of funds, streamlining tender policy, streamlining the work of the state apparatus.
– Little by little we are reaching a normal mode of work, – stated the head of the regional state administration. – We are normally entering the sowing campaign. Programs for the development of individual crops and the purchase of young livestock are already starting to work. Today, agro-industrial complex departments have been formed in the region, here, I believe, we have approached the selection of personnel promptly and quite prudently.
– There was a report about an agreement in Kyiv. How did you manage to attract such a substantial investment?
– The investment is indeed serious. The agreement signed by the regional state administration with the German firm "Kromberg & Schubert" provides for the construction of a plant in Lutsk district, 18 million euros of investment and the creation of 3 thousand jobs. We were chosen from five regions. We were checked for our ability to work with a foreign investor. Problems of the price of land and how quickly the land plot would be allocated were resolved. I want to note the good work of the new Lutsk district state administration headed by Bohdan Prus.
– What other interesting investment projects will there be?
– In my program speech I spoke about 70 million dollars of investment. This figure is not taken from the ceiling. These are real negotiations with French, German, Polish, Chinese companies. There is a Lithuanian investor. Investments in the construction of brick factories, a waste processing plant, in the forestry sector, healthcare, and the processing industry are being discussed. The Poles have become interested in investments in "Kovelsilmash", interest has appeared even among the Belarusians. Every week I hold negotiations with one or two investment groups.
– What fate awaits the newspaper "Dosvitnia Zoria" and its journalists? After all, the entire policy was conducted by its former editor, and the employees resisted this as best they could.
– I have not taken any repressive measures against "Dosvitnia Zoria" or its staff. The problem of "Dosvitnia Zoria" is the problem of the former leadership of the region, of the spineless leadership of the newspaper itself. It seems to me that if its journalists had character, they could have defended the honor of their publication, as the journalists of "Volyn" did. But this did not happen. Today we have received not only a problem and a staff without wages. But today there is a plan for the rehabilitation of the newspaper, we want to create on its basis a small media consortium, to which we plan to attract investors ready to invest money in the newspaper. But the problem is not simple, the debts were not accumulated by us, I personally was a subject of criticism in "Dosvitnia Zoria". I am not going to settle scores, but I ask you to take into account the complexity of the situation.
– What will be the fate of the Interport "Kovel" and the priority development territory "Novovolynsk"?
– Special customs rules for this territory have been abolished. There is one territory – Ukraine. Although the creation of this territory was justified. It did not solve all the problems of the coal region and the city, but we received levers for solving them. We will approach the solution of the "Osnastka" problem from a completely different angle. As it turned out, seven profitable companies operate there, which earn money on state equipment, only the state does not earn. And the state has wage arrears and electricity debts. So, we will sort it out. We will work on using the proximity of Novovolynsk to the border. The Interport "Kovel" did not become a free economic zone and will not become one.
– Recently, in connection with the administrative-territorial reform, there has been much talk about the fate of Volyn as a region. For example, they say that Chervony wants to make Rivne the center of a new entity. What is your position on this problem?
– Our Volyn will always remain the center of greater Volyn, because on the territory of the region is its heart, its soul – in history, cities and villages. There is no need to succumb to panic and rumors. The region will remain, and Lutsk will always be the center of Volyn, this is correct from the historical, socio-political, and mental-spiritual points of view. I do not know a city that would have such a specifically Volyn aura. Let the Rivne residents and Chervony not be offended. The question of the capital of Volyn has already been decided and not even by us. It is unequivocal – Lutsk. There is no need to believe rumors about the liquidation of district centers.
– Could the former military airfield not be used as an airport for the city? And it is shameful for the regional center to have such a railway station, even in district centers they are better.
– This requires large funds and efforts. This week the Minister of Transport Chervonenko will visit us. He will fly in by plane and will be at the border, but I will definitely raise the problem of the airport and the station before him.
– What for you during these 55 days in power was the easiest and what was the most problematic?
– The most difficult thing in work is that you cannot solve everything in a day – it is too short. There are very many problems that need to be solved simultaneously. There are problems of time planning and the avalanche of information that comes in, but they gradually disappear. The easiest thing was to communicate with journalists.
– It is no secret that a mass pilgrimage to Kyiv is currently taking place; delegations from Volyn and individual Volyn residents have also been there. Everyone wants to express their pain to Yushchenko during his famous morning communications with the people. How does the regional authorities react to this? Were there any instructions during these meetings from the President? To what extent are you, the regional authorities, subject to pressure?
– When I was in Kyiv, I stopped by the President's secretariat, communicated with Volyn residents who had been there, and we are solving their problems. There were two delegations – from Shatsk and Stara Vyzhivka. Regarding Stara Vyzhivka, I personally spoke with the President, he called me back. We had a constructive conversation, I expressed my point of view. I met with both delegations, we found points of contact. I am ready to compromise, but for me compromise means concessions from both sides.
– What has changed in the activity of customs, the prosecutor's office, the police? A fresh fact – three cars are detained at the border, they are standing at the penalty lot, and at the same time they are being registered in Kamin-Kashyrskyi. Is the "Volyn Klondike" continuing?
– I do not like the police's approach to their work lately. I spoke with Minister Lutsenko regarding the actions of specific city-district departments, regarding the deputy head of the regional department Shmyhanovskyi. This candidacy is not clear to me. In general, the personnel selection in the Volyn police is surprising. People who were with the people and clearly expressed their position during the Orange Revolution are being pushed into secondary roles by the new leadership. Instead, they promote those whom I would not take into the police. I will orient Mykhailo Lebid the way he promised the minister. The prosecutor's office has started cases regarding the Liuboml and Kamin-Kashyrskyi MREV. But I have already told prosecutor Andrii Hil: "I am surprised that charges were brought only for official negligence." As a people's deputy, together with Yevhen Kyrylchuk, I made a deputy inquiry addressed to the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. From my point of view, a serious group is being created, in which some officers of the police, prosecutor's office, and other law enforcement agencies are involved. The case was investigated by the SBU, specific cars were named, and this is only official negligence? That is what I write in this inquiry – are certain prosecutor's office employees not interested here? I also made an appeal regarding Mr. Chernota, where I asked – does a prosecutor who has violated legislation have the right to be a prosecutor? There is a response from the Prosecutor General's Office that there were violations in the registration of housing. And after that, a place is being prepared for him in the regional prosecutor's office. There are also Kurenda and Yaselskyi, who figure in the case regarding the Shatsk National Park. In my presence, the Prosecutor General instructed Hil to dismiss them from their positions. Why this is not being done, I am asking Mr. Hil through the press.
– There is much talk and writing about abuses in "Volynlis", what is going on there?
– Mykhailo Lebid reported to me that they have initiated 16 factual cases in the "Volynlis" system. The Security Service is also conducting an investigation. The President is also monitoring this issue.
Volodymyr Bondar also answered other questions concerning his cooperation with the mayor of Lutsk (the relationship was described as businesslike and constructive), the future Euroregion "Bug" and the perinatal center, the construction of an international health center for journalists on Svityaz, the problem of which was promised to be looked into and helped. Public hearings on the candidates for heads of departments of the regional state administration will be continued.
Volodymyr LYS