We still have 128 rayons that do not have any amalgamated hromadas after four years of the decentralisation reform. This is primarily due to sabotage from rayon administrations. I have no explanation for the fact that the rayon leader does not participate in the initiatives of the President, the Parliament and the Government, apart from his incompetence, or his personal interest in counteracting the reform, stated Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister – Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, in the “Ekonomichnyi Proryv” (“Economic Breakthrough”) programme with Pavlo Sheremeta on “NV” radio station.

“The main thing is understanding that people living in hromadas can actively influence the life of the hromada, its qualitative transformations, its level of life, and further development. This is hindered by the confrontation of the old management structure of the newly formed AHs, which is sometimes aggravated. No one wants to lose power. We are now scrupulously analysing the situation and making it transparent to everyone. This state of things needs to be improved immediately,” said Hennadii Zubko.

According to him, with the hromada’s efforts to amalgamate under profitable and promising conditions, there is often a question of absence of common boundaries. “The amalgamation procedure is not easy and it is voluntary, besides, we annually change the legislation in order to simplify the it. We have adopted the law on voluntary accession, which includes accession of one AH to another, adjoining to cities of oblast significance. This is a step by step move, and it is very important that all this come through public discussion, and not through administrative decisions. The new law on the principles of the administrative and territorial system, amalgamation of rayons, and the change of rayons also eliminates the rayon authorities’ objection to amalgamation of hromadas,” the official said.

He said that now there is a huge team of experts, specialists, international partners, the Verkhovna Rada, the Government, the heads of hromadas, all the people who work on the ground, on the decentralisation reform. First of all, in order to show the effectiveness of the reform and take “defeatists” down a peg.

“Ukrainians who currently live in non-amalgamated hromadas, in the old forms of village and settlement councils, are discriminated against in comparison with those who amalgamated and received additional funds and powers. However, Ukraine is one state for all and it must ensure equal rights for its citizens,” emphasised Hennadii Zubko.