The residents of the Zelenopidska amalgamated hromada have enjoyed the benefits of decentralisation for over a year. This village was once called Chervonyi Perekop. However, the hromada was renamed. The AH includes two village councils, no social institution was optimised here; the linen in kindergartens was embroidered manually, and there was once a tree growing in the middle of the hall of one of the rural culture centres, with the birds making their nests on this tree... The journalists of the press-tour were searching for the secrets of the Zelenopidska AH, as well as the benefits, brought to the peasants by the hromada.

The Zelenopidska hromada amalgamated 10 settlements: Zelenyi Pid, Kalynivka, Petropavlivka, Podivka, Prostorne, Zelena Rubanivka, Arkhanhelska Sloboda, Vilna Ukrayina, Dmytrivka and Dibrova. 4,500 people live in the AH. Zelenyi Pid is a young hromada with a potential to work. The AH head Halyna Lobunko believes that:

“We are focused on work. By saying "we" I mean the entire structure of the village council. These are the people, who are really implementing the decentralisation reform. From my own experience, I will say that reformation depends on how much the village council wants to change something in the steady rhythm of work. Noone will come from the street, make reforms for us, until we want it ourselves,” assures Halyna Lobunko. “The budget of our hromada used to be UAH 17 million. After amalgamation it became UAH 46 million. Own revenues make up UAH 26 million, and UAH 14 million are allocated to us by the state as subventions. The budget is filled up by mainly land and income taxes. Our starostas work as best as possible. All that we have now is a result of a joint work, as everyone has made an effort.”

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE