Local authorities should learn how to efficiently manage public finances and form budgets with an emphasis on interests of citizens. This was stated by Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman in an interview with Espreso.tv.

"Our goal is to ensure that local authorities would learn to manage public finances. It is of topmost importance that the process of budget formation in the regions be inclusive and focus on interests of the citizens", noted Volodymyr Groysman.

He stressed that budgeting in many communities is being transferred to budgets of public initiatives, in which the society engages in the process, decides where to spend money, why, and monitors their use.

In this regard, Volodymyr Groysman noted that decentralization gives an opportunity to undermine corruption. "When the system is centralized, it's easy to use, in particular with regards to shadow things. But decentralization, on the contrary, delegates all the resources to the areas and it is rather difficult to build any corruption schemes", he said.

The Prime Minister denied rumors about the alleged destruction of the local self-government system. The budget for 2017 in the framework of further decentralization stipulates for both an increase of responsibility of local authorities, and growing revenues of local budgets.

From year to year local budgets in Ukraine raise by 50%. Next year it is expected to provide revenue growth of local budgets by 25%, said Volodymyr Groysman.

“A new road in your village, town, city, a new sidewalk, new kindergarten, new trolley bus, new school bus, new club, energy efficiency measures: a new boiler room, lighting, new public environment – all these is the result of the power decentralization reform", stressed the Head of Government.

He noted that decentralization of power yields different result as it depends on the quality of local governance.

The Prime Minister emphasized that he had initiated the reform on decentralization and local governance when he had come to work with Central government.

"I used to do everything and will prolong my activity to ensure local authorities we elect have the money, competence, powers and be answerable, in the first place, to those who elect them", urged Volodymyr Groysman.