The sixth debates of DESPRO, which should accelerate the process of AH formation, are being held in Poltava.

The debates on the topic “Why Should Hromadas Amalgamate?” have just started in Poltava. It was organised by the Swiss-Ukrainian project “Decentralisation Support in Ukraine” (DESPRO) with the assistance of the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine and Poltava Oblast State Administration.

This is already the sixth such event, conducted by DESPRO: the debates have already taken place in the urban-type settlement of Krasnokutsk of the Kharkiv Oblast, in Zhovkva city of the Lviv Oblast, in Ivano-Frankivsk, in the urban-type settlement of Kelmentsi of the Chernivtsi Obalst, in the city of Yampil of the Vinnytsia Oblast (more information on these events is available HERE).

It was decided to hold the debates precisely in the Poltava Oblast because of rather modest results of the oblast in terms of participation in the reform. According to MinRegion, the Poltava Oblast occupies the 20th place in the ranking of oblasts in terms of AH formation. Besides, only one-fifth of the oblast territory is covered by amalgamated hromadas, where only 12% of the oblast population live. In total, there are 46 AHs formed in the Poltava Oblast, and population of almost half of them is fewer than 5 thousand residents.

70% of the audience responded “YES” to the first question “Do you support the process of voluntary amalgamation of hromadas?”.

The participants of the debates should not only discuss the benefits of the reform on the example of existing AHs and give answers to all questions concerning amalgamation and decentralisation, but also discuss the norms of the draft law “On Establishment, Elimination and Change of the Borders of the Poltava Oblast's Rayons” (No. 9204), registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

The full version is available in Ukrainian – please click HERE