The Zhytomyr Oblast is a leader among the regions in AH formation. Hromadas in the Poltava and Vinnytsia Oblasts use cooperation tools the best. The largest number of starostas was elected in the Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil Oblasts. All rayons of the Volyn, Zhytomyr and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts are fully covered by AHs. Hromadas of the Kyiv Oblast are most actively joining cities of oblast significance. Besides, most hromadas in the capital area have taken over the powers of the State Architectural and Building Inspection...

The monthly monitoring of the process of decentralisation of power and local self-government reform of MinRegion as of 10 October (DOWNLOAD) features the indicators the regions are leading and lagging behind in, distribution of state support funds, situation in the healthcare, education, youth, social policy and administrative service delivery sectors.

“Monitoring is not just generalised data on the course of the reform. These are indicators of real, tangible changes for people in cities and villages. And these indicators repeatedly demonstrate that social, educational, healthcare, administrative and communal services in hromadas and, hence, in the country as a whole are being improved, roads and communal infrastructure are being renovated, that is, the quality of people’s life changes. Of course, these changes occur most quickly in big cities andamalgamated hromadas,” commented Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine.

He also stressed that there are still a lot of hromadas in a waiting position and in no hurry to amalgamate. According to the monitoring data, hromadas in 110 out of 490 rayons (except 25 temporarily occupied ones) still do not participate in the amalgamation process.

“This year have already been wasted by the hromadad, that are not amalgamating – they have lost both time and reform opportunities for development. But the next year will be important for them, as the issue of further voluntariness in the process of formation of a capable basic local self-government level will be put forward. That is, hromadas still have a chance to become part of the success story created by themselves, and not someone else,” said the First Deputy Minister.

He also emphasised that the future of hromadas, their trust in the reform and motivation to change also depends on decisions at the central level, and especially on the decisions of the Central Election Commission: “I am confident that the renewed CEC will be decentralisation supporter, and its position regarding the elections in AHs will inspire hromadas on their path to amalgamation.”

According to the monitoring data, 479 AHs have already received 938.7 thousand hectares of land outside settlements into their communal ownership. Until the end of the year, all 665 AHs, formed in 2015-2017, will receive the land. “This is one of the indicators that proves the steadiness of the Government’s stance on hromadas’ empowerment,” Vyacheslav Nehoda noted.