Hromadas that have already completed all amalgamation procedures have to hold their first elections by the end of this year in order to get into the calculations of the state budget in 2019, said Yanina Kazyuk, financial decentralisation coordinator of the Central Reform Office under MinRegion (with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme).

“Local authorities and residents of the newly formed AHs have fulfilled everything stipulated by the law in order to become more capable and have more opportunities for development. Now it’s the turn of the central government to appoint elections in AHs this year and to guarantee state support to all amalgamated hromadas for the next year,” believes Yanina Kazyuk.

“The 2019 State Budget, presented today in the Verkhovna Rada, considers the proposal regarding the educational subvention. The infrastructure subvention is foreseen only in the amount of UAH 1.9 billion, since amalgamated hromadas and accessed hromadas, where elections are not yet scheduled, were not included in the calculations. I hope that the issue with the elections will soon be resolved by new members of the Central Election Commission, appointed yesterday, and the Parliament together with the Government will find it possible to increase the size of state support to AHs to the level that will meet hromadas’ expectations,” said Yanina Kazyuk.

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