State officials of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine were acquiring the basics of decentralisation. The seminar on the topic “Decentralisation of power and decentralisation of finance of Ukraine" was organised for them by the Ukrainian Centre for the Training of Civil Servants and of Local Self-Government Officials of the National Agency on Civil Service.

Representatives of MinRegion, the Central Reform Office under MinRegion and experts of the Swiss-Ukrainian Project “Decentralisation Support in Ukraine” (DESPRO) assisted the officials in mastering the complex topic.

“The main reform resource is the people who individually, gradually and locally have to implement decentralisation tasks defined by law. Therefore, it is important that everyone understands the same legal basis, knows how the reform proceeds and what problems and their solutions are. It is important that the officials of the Presidential Administration show interest in the reform, and that we are constantly in touch,” commented Serhiy Sharshov, Head of the Department of Local Self-Government, Administrative and Territorial Structure of MinRegion. He presented the results of the reforms of local self-government and power decentralisation. Particular attention was paid to the issues of the reform legislative support, with the analysis of the draft laws submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada.

Yanina Kazyuk, coordinator on financial decentralisation of the Central Reform Office under MinRegion (with the support of the U-LEAD Programme) introduced the results of financial decentralisation to the seminar participants. The issues of revenues to local budgets, opportunities of the local self-government bodies in the process of reform implementation, incentives for hromadas to amalgamate, state financial support for the development of the infrastructure of amalgamated hromadas were focused as well.

“Today, local self-government bodies of the amalgamated hromadas have all the opportunities and powers to build and develop their territories, elaborate development strategies and attract investments, create jobs and receive additional revenues to the local budgets, provide high-quality budget and administrative services to their residents. The current task of hromadas is to use these opportunities effectively. The state authorities and the expert community, in their turn, should apply every effort to help hromadas on their way to development,” said Yanina Kazyuk.

The seminar participants also discussed problematic issues. Particular attention was paid to the necessity of legislative regulation of the control over observance of applicable laws by local self-government bodies in the decision-making process.

At the suggestion of the seminar participants, such information events will become regular.