There are //// bodies in focus of our committee scan today:
Committee on Corruption Prevention and Counteraction
The committee held a sitting on systematic infringements while conducting state registration of property rights to real estate by state registrars. At the meeting, there was a large attendance of representatives from state registration-related bodies and agencies, including public procurator's office and police. The forum has resulted in further sending an urgent parliamentary appeal to the ministry of justice requesting more needful information on the issue the meeting was focused on.
Committee on Public Health
The committee held a roundtable discussion on reforms in rehabilitation system and disability categorization for Ukrainian citizens. In attendance, there were a wide range of representatives from the line committee, the health ministry, parliamentary fractions and groups, other parliamentary committees, the presidential administration, the cabinet of ministers, other related ministries, non-governmental and international organizations, military health care milieu, the mass media, and the presidential envoy for ATO participants rehabilitation.
The participants of the round table discussed the imperfections in the system of medical and social expertise in Ukraine, the problems of the system of rehabilitation, ways of solving the problems detected and overall reforming the rehabilitation system.
There was also presented a new plotted road map for going through Disability determination services (DDS) (aka Disability board of review or Medico-social expert board) for getting a disability category or appealing of the decisions taken.
The new legislative changes bind DDS, in particular, to create field commissions, introduce an indefinite disability categorization in case of organ loss, up-categorization by one grade for persons with homeland protection-related disabilities, and the like.
Uliana Suprun spoke about the concept of reforming the rehabilitation system, having dwelt at length on the branch problems among which there were named to be numerous imperfections in the very procedure of getting a disability status, lack of multidisciplinary approach, shortage of skilled rehab manpower, absence of rehabilitation standards and its performance criteria, as well as bribery.
It was emphasized that first and foremost we are to change the approach to the provision of disability itself - this should be not the fixation of losses, but the first step towards rehabilitation in order to include a person in a fulfilled, integral life. There should also be ensured the continuity of the rehabilitation process, the timely identification of the need for such services, the transition from passive to active rehabilitation, and the introduction of international performance criteria, etc. There was also underlined the importance of using sports as the most effective agency of rehabilitation as well. Some 600 thousand Ukrainians were said to be in need of rehabilitation means of all sorts and some three million ones having disabilities.
Summing up the meeting, the first deputy head of the health care committee said: "We must give a chance to every person wounded".
Committee on Freedom of Speech and Information Policy
The committee reviewed the issue of disabling the analog television broadcasting in Ukraine.
Prior to opening the debate, those present heard a report of the permanent presidential envoy on the Crimea over freedom of speech and information policy of Ukraine on the peninsula. The gist of the speech reduced to the idea that the Crimea has been fully over-covered with the aggressor state-induced total information control, mantling with the aggressor’s signal a sizeable stretch of land of the Kherson oblast as well. The broadcaster ratio at present makes 1 to 10 in favour of the Russian machine.
Ukrainian broadcasts are firmly jammed by Russians throughout the Crimea, to no purpose for international agencies once appealed.
The reaction of Ukrainian authorities to these challenges seems to be inadequate, since most of the ‘remedy’ works were stopped through underfinancing. It was then noted that the problems that arose from that political decision to cut off the analog broadcasting without prior “digitalization” of the people, are falling within the scope of activity of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, the ministers, regional state administrations and local self-governance bodies. Not a dime is allocated for these purposes in the draft state budget of Ukraine for 2019 either.
Performance of the Zeonbud, Ltd. which had been licensed to digitalize near all Ukraine, was regarded as rather poor.
Another big problem was said to be indebtedness of the National societal tele-radio company of Ukraine, totaling one hundred million and odd hryvnias. Once the analog cut off occurs next year as scheduled, Ukraine may lose a unique facility of strategic significance to the state’s informational security.
As a result of the discussion, there was made a decision to appeal to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine with recommendation to urgently consider strengthening information security and the risks arising from cutting off the analog broadcasting.
The said recommendations shall be also sent to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine and appropriate central executive bodies.
Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement
The committee recommends the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to take it on the first reading the draft bill No.6457 on amendments to the Article 21 of the law of Ukraine “On National Guard of Ukraine”. The decision was approved on September 19 upon an ample debate.
Through the above amendments, the bill offers to provide for a charge-free rehabilitation and health resort services to national guardsmen, civil servants, persons dismissed from service for age, health and veterans of the National Guard.