Last 25 Years Show The State Cannot Regulate Ukraine — Deputy Minister

Ukraine’s economy is currently at 36 percent of what it was at the fall of the Soviet Union because it has only implemented half reforms, Sasha Borovik, first Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade told Hromadske.

Though it’s not the universal view, Borovik argues, that Ukraine should go for fast bold reforms instead of gradual reforms. Many of the industries which are performing well are doing so because of subsidies, decisions and tariffs and the economy barely functions, said Borovik.

The last 25 years have proven that the Ukrainian state should not be regulating the market. The levels of corruption and lack of trust in the state means that Ukraine at the moment cannot be based on a social-democratic European model. It needs instead to allow the ‘invisible hand’ to work instead, said Borovik.

IInvestors are put off by the levels of corruption in Ukraine and in order to sell Ukraine’s new identity to investors the country needs more ‘clean’ people, said Borovik. The difficulty Borovik and his team of reformers encounter is that they are outnumbered by the old guard and expected to work within the old system. At the moment the reformers are restricted to middle level positions and it is a struggle for them to change the system or represent the country.

Hromadske International's Maxim Eristavi and Sabra Ayres spoke with Sasha Borvik on May 10, 2015.