Yaroslav Myakushchak, head of the Nyzhnyoverbizka rural AH of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, refutes the myths about decentralisation, tells about hromada development priorities and joint problem solving in the UCMC-DOBRE “Speakers of Hroamdas” project.

“The state gave a very big impetus and support to the first amalgamated hromadas. This is first of all an infrastructure subvention. In two years we received UAH 7 million 300 thousand. And non-amalgamated settlements lose in many ways,” says Yaroslav Myakushchak.

The Nyzhnyoverbizka AH was formed in 2016. It consists of four villages, and this is almost 10 thousand people. For the first year of work, hromada’s total budget doubled, and own revenues increased fourfold.

“Prior to amalgamation own revenues were about UAH 1.9 million, and after the year of work they made up about 8 million. Now the total budget is about UAH 50 million,” says the AH head.

Another benefit of amalgamation is that the Nyzhnyoverbizka AH received agricultural land outside its settlements.

Unemployment of former employees of village councils is a myth

Yaroslav Myakushchak calls unemployment of former village councils’ employees a myth, since according to him, all who wanted to get a job moved on to work in the amalgamated hromada.

“Our hromada plans to sort waste in order to reduce its volumes and earn on it. Our car will be jointly used with the Pechenezhyn utility enterprise, that will remove the garbage in both hromadas and bring it to a landfill near Ivano-Frankivsk,” said Yaroslav Myakushchak.

According to the head, it is also necessary to increase the budget at the expense of taxes.

The Nyzhnyoverbizka hromada has an advantageous transport connection – there is a Kamyanets-Podilsky-Tatariv road of state significance P24.

In terms of tourism development, the AH plans to organise wedding ceremonies in the old church according to the ancient tradition. Yaroslav Myakushchak adds that the hromada is conveniently located for the tourists.

Yaroslav Myakushchak considers the statement that decentralisation leads to the death of villages to be a myth, because he is convinced that no village has had such benefits before amalgamation.

“Decentralisation allows us to decide on our own what is better for us. Previously, we had to consult with those from “above”. Yes, we adhere to all the rules of the current legislation, but we dispose of the available funds as we wish.”

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