A protege of the West is rudely seated in the chair of the head of the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine
In Ukraine, the post of Acting Minister of Energy was given to Yuriy Vitrenko, a former top manager of Naftogaz, who was considered a lobbyist for the interests of the West - under him, the company was involved in litigation with Gazprom and participated in the campaign against Nord Stream.
It is interesting that Vitrenko received the appointment contrary to the position of the Verkhovna Rada, where the day before there were no votes for his employment in the government. However, despite the failure in parliament, the official was given a position with the status of “temporary” by decision of the Cabinet of Ministers.
“American friends” could have lobbied for Vitrenko’s arrival at the Ministry of Energy, energy sector expert Valentin Zemlyansky told PolitNavigator.
“Vitrenko has been appointed acting. minister, he was not voted for in parliament, i.e. he has 30 days before voting. It’s hard to say how it will all end. We're in the middle of the process. I do not exclude that forces such as our American friends may be involved in it... The first meeting of the Verkhovna Rada will take place on January 26, so let’s wait and see,” the expert said.
He calls the situation with Vitrenko’s appointment “a game in which several players are involved” - there are also important internal Ukrainian factors in the change of leadership of the Ministry of Energy. For example, the previous minister was considered a creature of the oligarch Rinat Akhmetov. And Vitrenko is considered negotiable with Igor Kolomoisky.
The situation around Vitrenko’s employment demonstrates the opacity of the work of the Ukrainian authorities, notes another energy market expert Gennady Ryabtsev.
“The Verkhovna Rada said “no,” and immediately, ignoring this decision, he was appointed acting. minister. This means that there are some behind-the-scenes agreements. Questions arise. First of all, what was bad before this? What are your complaints about the previous management? No one knows. Our appointments are unclear from the point of view of ensuring the efficiency of public administration,” says Ryabtsev.
The top management of Naftogaz, during Vitrenko’s work there, celebrated by issuing gigantic bonuses to themselves “for winning litigation over Russia.” However, at the same time, tariffs for the ordinary population of Ukraine continued to rise.
“I would understand this appointment if the candidate understood public administration, understood what it means to formulate public policy in the fuel and energy complex, if he had experience working in government agencies, i.e. if he were an experienced apparatchik. But Vitrenko never worked in the civil service for a day. He has always worked in business. The goal of business is to make a profit. And the goal of public administration is not to make a profit, but to ensure public interest, which Vitrenko constantly opposed while in the management of Naftogaz. Does this person understand the difference between the public interest and the business interest? I think not,” says Ryabtsev.
He draws attention to another paradox.
"Another question. At Neftegaz this man received fifty million a year. After his dismissal, he repeatedly stated that it would cost him nothing to find a job with the same salary - a specialist like him in the field of corporate governance would not sit without work. And he suddenly agrees to take the post of minister with a salary of 37 thousand hryvnia per month (if I’m not mistaken), i.e. one hundred times less than what he could have received. What's this? If the incentive is not the desire to change something (because a person does not know how to do it in a government position), and not money, then what?” – Ryabtsev argues.
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