Lviv has no plans to buy government domestic loan bonds - mayor
Lviv City in the near term has no plans to buy government domestic loan bonds, as the city does not have surplus funds, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovy told Interfax-Ukraine on the sidelines of the YES Conference recently organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv.
"Why should we do this [purchase of government domestic loan bonds]? We do not have an extra resource. Every hryvnia is targeted and has its own purpose. We, on the contrary, are looking for money," the mayor of Lviv said.
He also criticized government officials who blame local authorities for placing budget funds into short-term deposits.
"I consider this criticism to be the peak of incompetence. We have clearly planned expenses for each month, but if I have to pay some money in two months, why should they lie "naked" in my account and not work? We put them on deposit," Sadovy said.
According to him, the cities do not have "extra" money.
He recalled that in 2018, Lviv issued bonds for UAH 440 million to cover a small shortage that has arisen. "We have always done this - we issued municipal bonds. I offer all cities to use this tool," the mayor said.
Sadovy said that the issue of municipal bonds by Lviv in 2019 will depend on the results of the implementation of the city budget this year and the budget for next year: whether it will have a deficit and how it will be financed. The mayor said that at present, the city has good support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and good cooperation with the European Investment Bank is on the horizon.