Prime Minister: I stand for the decentralization reform as it will provide an impetus for other reforms

A power decentralization reform is to provide impetus for development of other reforms and local economy, assured Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman during a conference "Transformation’17. What will reforms change in the lives of Ukrainian citizens" on Thursday.

“I consider the decentralization process will be highly beneficial for reforms in other sectors, in particular health care system, education, culture, other areas. Apart from that, it is a significant economic engine. We should have a clear understanding that regions produce national product. When the regions possess necessary resources, the local economy will develop. It is a vital point for our country," accentuated Volodymyr Groysman.

The Head of the Government stressed that previous governance system had proved to be insufficient. "An initiative from local authorities used to be suppressed. Everything was concentrated in the central government in Kyiv,” underlined he.

The decentralization reform has been pursued successfully for 3 years already. As a result there have amalgamated hundreds local communities, their local budgets have increased by 3-5-7 times.

Notably, during 2015 and 2016 local budgets demonstrated a 50% annual growth performance. In 2016 alone local budgets accumulated additional UAH 50 billion, emphasized Volodymyr Groysman.

“Combining powers of territorial community which is self-sufficient and the financial resource, will enable us to build a system of efficient services in the regions,” he noted.

The Prime Minister reminded that he had joined the central government to launch the decentralization reform.

“At the posts of Vice Prime Minister, Speaker of the Parliament and the Prime Minister I have been fighting and continue fighting for this reform. I am committed to prolong power decentralization process, thereby enhancing the institutional capacity of local self-governance bodies. It is of utmost importance to change the electoral system so that it would reflect the real state of affairs and advance our reform path," summed up Volodymyr Groysman.