Implementation of the Land Reform should have a Tactical, Strategic and Final Goal, - V.Lytvyn

Implementation of the land reform should have a tactical, strategic and final goal. Volodymyr Lytvyn, Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, made this statement in the article "Land as a Uniting Basis of the Ukrainian Society" published in the Holos Ukrainy newspaper on the eve of the parliamentary hearings "Land in the Ukrainian Destiny: Situation in the Land Sector, Legislative Support of Land Relations, and Implementation of Land Laws."

V.Lytvyn believes that implementation of land reforms should be preceded by the analysis of the social values and needs. "Deciding the public destiny, we should keep in mind that it heavily relies on land and the domineering land relations," he stated.

The Head of the Parliament reminded that since August 24, 1991, 37 Laws of Ukraine, 64 resolutions of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, 178 decrees of the President of Ukraine, 24 orders of the President of Ukraine, 84 resolutions of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, 758 normative acts of the executive authorities on economic, environmental, legal and social issues of land relations have been adopted. However, V.Lytvyn drew attention to the lack of a clear-cut legal base in the land relations. "Moreover, a great number of normative acts signifies a chaotic, non-consistent approach to the settlement of the land issues. Generally speaking, the legal sphere only reflects the competing desires and attempts concerning land in the Ukrainian politics and ideology," he stressed.

V.Lytvyn declared that the question of the land reform is becoming more topical, and should be settled without any delay. "It only remains to specify the reform. The land reform should have a tactical, strategic and final goal," stated the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. "People should get a clear-cut action plan on land transformations, discuss it and submit their motions." V.Lytvyn admitted that the land reform had never been a land issue only. "It is a matter of life-sustaining activity of our society. We can either consolidate Ukrainian community, making another move towards the civil society, or neglect and destroy the fragile harmony," he warned.

The Head of the Parliament regards land as a decisive factor of civil society consolidation and development. V.Lytvyn called for adopting a balanced, sensible and pragmatic approach to the settlement of land issues. He stated, "We should decide whether we need a land reform to develop the civil society or an incitement to discord; a step towards environmental protection and harmonization of social relations with the nature or its further barbarian destruction; creation of a modern agrarian business with attractive international and domestic investment schemes or another puddle to consume national funds and spurn foreign ones."

The Head of the Parliament named Ukrainian lands "a non-losing ace in the geopolitical planning", and called on "protection and enrichment of strategic assets."

V.Lytvyn lays emphasis on the beginning, methods and ultimate goal of the land reform. He stated, "The reform should be held in such a way as to attract the best experts and professionals to the work on land." The land reform should raise the effectiveness of agrarian science to the level of everyday need of the Ukrainian society.

As to the legislative support of the land reform, V.Lytvyn called for revising the system of coordinated acts to let the land reform settle not only agrarian, but also economic, political, environmental and ideological issues.

The Head of the Parliament singled out several aspects to be regulated immediately.

Thus, he mentioned regulation of rural residents´ interests during the introduction of agricultural lands turnover, and consideration of the food safety matters and social stability by the drafting of bills.

It is also necessary to harmonize the rights and duties of the land users, and regulate the permits, obligations and prohibitions in the acquisition and use of land. Moreover, the limits of landed property and the number of admissible landed properties in an administrative-territorial unit should be fixed.

V.Lytvyn deems necessary to specify the designated purpose of the land resources, and introduce penalties for the change of designated purpose, its illegitimate alienation, non-payment of the taxes or neglect of the expert review.

Special attention should be paid to the legislative support of land lease: the period of land lease agreement, possibility and terms of leased land buy-off, the area of leased land, the place of leaseholder´s registration and tax payment, the possibility of handing over the leased land (e.g. for receipt of a credit).    

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada calls for legislative support of factors and conditions that terminate the right to land as a property, object of use or disposal, and consequences of such termination. He deems necessary to provide the mechanism of social protection of population by granting concessional lending and setting priorities in the employment of local specialists and citizens of Ukraine.

V. Lytvyn deems necessary to solve the issues of state regulation of agricultural lands circulation; define the status, functions and authorities of relevant institutions; draft legal acts to counteract ‘a latifundium land system´, investment pyramids , shady schemes of land misappropriation, and corruption in land-use relations.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada is convinced that Ukrainian legislation on counteraction to the foreign ‘colonization´ of Ukrainian land requires special consideration, so it is necessary to define the frameworks for the possible land sale or lease, obligations and bans regarding use of foreign labour, reorientation of crop rotations and production of agricultural crops in the areas useful for the foreign investor, owner or landholder, prevention of technogenic overuse or use of genetically modified organisms and chemicals.

V. Lytvyn calls for preventing the following social risks caused by the forthcoming introduction of the agricultural land market in Ukraine:

a) formation of oligarchy agrarian system in Ukraine;

b) restriction of the state control over certain territories;

c) deformation of organizational structure of agricultural industry;

d) aggravation of problems in the rural employment market;

e) vulnerability of village residents as potential sellers of land plots;

f) deterioration of domestic produce supply;

g) village depopulation;

h) ruination of village infrastructure.

"The parliamentary hearings should lay emphasis on the importance of the given problems, facilitate land reforms, and prevent mistakes and errors of judgment. We have no right to mistake in this decisive issue", summed up Volodymyr Lytvyn.