In total about UAH 38 billion are envisaged in the 2018 state budget for regional development support. And the efficiency of use of this money will depend on the capacity of local authorities, stated Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Housing and Communal Services, during the expanded governmental meeting on decentralisation and regional development, held in Vinnytsia.

"It is very important to develop social infrastructure of the regions and hromadas. And even more important is to implement the projects that would have a multiplying effect, stimulate the development of territories, create jobs and added value. These are exactly the projects we are lacking. Over the past years, oblasts have exhausted the project list kept in the archives for decades, and as a result, this year most of them have not yet submitted their projects for the Ministry’s approval. It is a huge challenge hampering the development of regions," said Vyacheslav Nehoda.

According to him, one of the main tasks facing the oblast administrations and councils is to begin the process of the second stage of implementation of regional development strategies by 2020 in parallel with the formation of the new state regional development strategy. "This work should be done not formally, but precise measures, creating conditions for the development of entrepreneurship and improving the living standards of the citizens, should be developed," said Vyacheslav Nehoda.

"In general, with the increase of the capacity of local authorities, we must jointly establish a clear and understandable system of regional development: there should be a state strategy and plan for its implementation, regional strategies and plans, as well as strategies and plans of hromadas. They should be linked by common goals and tasks. Only then will we be able to use resources efficiently and develop territories in a high-quality way,” summed up the First Deputy Minister.