For Ukraine, land is not only national heritage or strategic resource, but also a way of preserving our life. Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, made this statement on Thursday, speaking at the
session of Zhytomyr Regional Council.
In view of the parliamentary hearings scheduled for March 23, V.Lytvyn stated that thorough discussion of this issue is vital, "as Ukrainians regard the land as their home, church, and utmost social asset."
The Head of the Parliament expressed his opinion concerning the land market. He stated that private ownership which presupposes the use of land for profit-making is the foundation of a full-scale land market.
However, V.Lytvyn admitted to certain negative results of the agrarian market development. The methodology of calculating the land cost should be developed to avoid adverse consequences. Among the advantages of the land market, V.Lytvyn named increase of investment appeal of Ukraine, and positive influence on the correlation between price and land rent, which should raise the budget revenue from the operations with land.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine also defined the risks to be considered before introducing new land relations. According to him, new forms of the state appear if there is re-distribution of lands, intergovernmental agreements on inter-state land lease, etc. In such a way, one may observe a peculiar form of colonization which is followed by the exploitation of people and exhaustion of land.
V. Lytvyn declared that modern latifundists possess nearly 30-50 % of the land. Its use, according to him, is often followed by the infringements in rotation of crops, exhaustion of soil, lack of responsibility for such actions, destruction of villages infrastructure. This situation is fraught with danger of complete marginalization of village. Thus, the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament calls for a broad discussion of this issue. "We shall perform land inventory, compile the register of land owners, and strengthen responsibility for the infringements in this sphere", stressed V. Lytvyn.