OREANDA-NEWS. February 10, 2009. The Government is not responsible for fixing the housing and communal service tariffs. Head of the State Inspection on Price Control Natalia Nemodruk told a briefing.

Neither the State Inspection on Price Control, nor the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, nor the Government bear responsibility for tariffs, approved by the Kyiv city administration and other authorities of local government,” Natalia Nemodruk stressed.

As she says, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On local government”, just the authorities of local government fix tariffs.

Natalia Nemodruk emphasized that the State Inspection on Price Control's terms of reference cover – provision of conclusions on economically reasonable accounts necessary for service, in other words, defining the net cost of a service.

Analyzing the new tariffs, fixed by the Kyiv city state administration, the head of State Inspection on Price Control mentioned the following figures. For budget institutions economically reasonable accounts for water supply tariffs amount 1.89 hryvnias, when the Kyiv administration proposed – 24.12 hryvnias (the current before November 1 tariffs amounted 1.62 hryvnias). Economically reasonable accounts for drainage system, calculated by the State Inspection on Price Control amount 1.61 hryvnias, and the Kyiv administration fixed – 14.36 hryvnias (before November 1 – 1.20 hryvnias).

Natalia Nemodruk has disproved information that the State Inspection on Price Control obliges the KCSA to raise tariffs for the population. According to her, it is outside the Inspection’s competence, “I have no right to oblige them to raise, I shall oblige not to raise, if there are no reasons. We insist on not raising tariffs unreasonably”.