A. Yatsenyuk: Cabinet has to urgently submit proposals of amendments to the Constitution for decentralization of power

The Cabinet of Ministers has to urgently submit proposals of amendments to the Constitution that provide decentralization of power. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk said at a session Tuesday, April 1.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk informed that one of the issues of the agenda of the session of the Government is a local self-government reform and a reform of local authorities: "People in the regions want to control authorities. People in the regions want to appoint authorities. People in the regions want to have responsible authorities. And the Government of Ukraine should give a clear answer what will be done with the aim of decentralization of power. "

According to the Head of the Government, approval of the Local Self-Government Reform Concept is the first step to ensure that we have the responsible local authorities in Ukraine

He stressed that the first decision that should be made concerns the liquidation of regional and district administrations. Arseniy Yatsenyuk has supported the decision regarding the election of the executive committees by the respective local councils.

As he said the executive committees must take full responsibility for work in the region, it’s financial development, infrastructure, construction of roads, schools, hospitals; decisions should not be made in Kyiv where to send capital expenditures.

The Prime Minister said that the Cabinet of Ministers should "interest the regions so that they work on creation workplaces and so that they work on business development". He stressed that there is a clear and effective instrument for this: "some income taxes should be leave in the territory, and thus the relevant head of the executive committee will do everything to ensure that local companies work and pay more taxes because he has a direct interest."

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also stands for provision to the executive committees the right to set local taxes and fees, rates of such taxes: "It will also encourage them, for example, in order to collect more of the taxes that are administered directly on their territories."

On Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s believe, it is necessary that the relevant departments of executive committees should have powers concerning how to form quantity of schools, how to form a specialization of a school: “So let the region make appropriate decisions at the expense of revenue, that is, let they bear responsibility before the people who elected them.”

Arseniy Yatsenyuk stressed that to implement the Local Self-Government Reform Concept we need changes to the Constitution, and this has to be done immediately. He recalled that the Temporary special commission for amendment of the Constitution operates in the Parliament, it represented by all the political forces and the draft amendments to the Constitution must appear on April 15.

The Prime Minister said that the Government of Ukraine expresses its political and economic concept: “we advocate handing over the rights and responsibilities to the regions. And for this reason, the new Ukrainian Constitution must undergo changes regarding formation of local authorities, I mean, first of all, regional and district state administrations, which must be liquidated in the text of the Constitution. They must be replaced by prefects who instead of splitting funds are exceptionally responsible for nomocracy and order on the subordinate territories.”

In addition, under the new Constitution the local and central Prosecutor’s Offices respectively must be deprived of general supervision function.

The Head of the Government stressed that new redaction of the Constitution must contain clear sections related to the local self-government issues in order to bring these sections to compliance with the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk noted that these changes must be made immediately: “We lack time for that. April 15 is the first date when the draft Constitution must appear; afterwards it must be send to the Venice Commission. The final redaction of the Constitution must be endorsed in September of the current year.”

“We don’t have three years to wait for the changes. We must act fast, efficiently and correctly,” Prime Minister underlined.