Volodymyr Chaika made a statement, in which he confirmed his intention to fight for the city mayor post at the elections this March. The journalists were given the mayor’s report of city government’s achievements and weaknesses that had been distributed among Mykolayiv residents.
A six-year development program is being currently implemented in Mykolayiv, having produced positive results after a year and a half of its implementation, according to Chaika. Thus, the city budget revenues grew twofold; the government succeeded in reconstruction of many vitally important city structures, including the Varvarivsky Bridge. Natural gas pipelines have been built in several city districts, this work being continued.
These achievements incited Chaika to seek reelection for the city mayor post, he told the journalists. However, oblast authorities are not enthusiastic about his decision. Oblast radio and television company refused to sign an agreement to cover the city government activities motivating it by lack of technical capacities. Incidentally, radio Mykolayiv stopped broadcasting programs of the Radio Liberty Ukrainian service due to the same reason. These “technical problems” have not been removed up until now although a year has passed since then.
Nevertheless, Volodymyr Chaika is intent on regaining his legal rights and has already sent a letter to radio Mykolayv editor-in-chief Ihor Trofimov asking to let him and his deputies on the air.
“ I just want to see, how they will refuse to let the incumbent city mayor on the air. We have already gone through such things and we will go through this one too,” Viktor Chaika said. “Aren’t these the administrative levers being at use when newspapers are told to support only one candidate for the post of city mayor, the one welcomed by oblast authorities?” Mykolayv city mayor also said that of recently he has not being invited for the meetings at the oblast state administration head any more.
“The coming elections do not envisage gentlemen's agreements and will be savage; dirty technologies and administrative levers will be applied. City mayor Volodymyt Chaika was the first to feel that as the press conference in Mykolayiv showed it,” believes the Ukraininskyi Pivden (the Ukrainian South) editor-in-chief Yuriy Didenko.
Reported by Ihor Stolyarov
