The oblasts retain their positions in the rating of forming capable hromadas, but one of them may soon change the situation dramatically.

In the last month, 15 new amalgamated hromadas have been formed in Ukraine. In total, as of 10 September, there are 951 AHs in Ukraine, 69 of which await the CEC's decision on appointment of the first local elections. There are 35 AHs with centres in cities of oblast significance. They have adjoined 78 nearby local councils. This is the data of the updated Monitoring of the decentralisation process of and the local self-government reform, published by MinRegion as of 10 September 2019.

The five leading regions in the rating of capable hromadas’ formation remain unchanged – the Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kmelnytskyi Oblasts. The Zakarpattia, Kirovohrad, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Lviv Oblasts traditionally occupy the last places of the rating.

However, as reported by MinRegion, the situation in the Zakarpattia Oblast has shifted. Over the last month, the Zakarpattia Oblast State Administration has provided positive conclusions to 6 AHs of the region - Keretskivska, Kholmkivska, Velykobereznyanska, Dovzhanska, Zarichanska, Horondivska hromadas. They are now taking the final amalgamation decisions.

“The situation with capable hromadas’ formation in the Zakarpattia Oblast has significantly changed for the better. In 4 years, only six hromadas have been formed there. And with the appointment of the new head of the Oblast State Administration, only in the last month, six hromadas have been given the green light to move through change and development. According to our information, two more new hromadas will be join this list today and tomorrow. This is a good signal for all local councils in the region. We expect that in the near future the Zakarpattia Oblast Council will approve a Prospective Plan for the formation of hromadas’ territories in the oblast. The Oblast Council published the draft of such decision on its official website,” commented Vyacheslav Nehoda, Deputy Minister of MinRegion.

More information about the results of decentralisation and the local self-government reform can be found in the monthly Monitoring (DOWNLOAD).