Government endorses first bill on reforming local self-government

“On April 1 the Government approved the Concept local self-government which envisages complete decentralizing of power and handing over authority to the local communities. We have elaborated changes to the Constitution of Ukraine and sent hem to the Constitutional Commission, the ones including decentralization of power, delegating responsibilities, fixing financial grounds, meaning taxes, for the local communities. To ensure the development of these decisions on April 23 the Government endorsed the draft Law “On local community cooperation”, which will be directed to the Parliament within nearest time,” the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Minister of Regional Development, Building and Housing and Communal Services Volodymyr Hroysman noted in the course of presentation of the draft bill.

The new law envisages five possible cooperation forms – delegation to one of the communities the responsibilities to fulfill certain tasks on transfer of resources, realization of joint projects, creating and maintenance of joint communal enterprises or institutions, or even setting up a joint administration body to perform certain duties. Moreover, the draft document envisages mechanisms of such cooperation, its funding and control. 

The Vice Premier informed about the envisaged by the draft Law governmental encouraging the community cooperation, in particular by means of providing subventions to the local budgets in priority areas of state policy. In such a way the Government would have an opportunity to encourage strengthening capacity of the communities to realize a larger circle of responsibilities, and facilitate their preparation to the local self-government reform in full.

Volodymyr Hroysman stressed the draft Law of Ukraine “On the local community cooperation” approved by the Government had been coordinated with 13 regional councils, 21 regional state administrations, Kyiv municipal state administration, the State Fund for Local Self-Government in Ukraine, National Association of local self-government bodies  The Association of Cities of Ukraine, National Association of rural councils. Besides, according to him, there is a number of communities that are ready to prove in practice the efficiency of joining efforts just after approval of the Law by the Verkhovna Rada.