A constructive and frank dialogue took place with the representatives of the Association of Amalgamated Hromadas, our reliable partners in the decentralisation reform process. An important result is reached – the Association of AHs stands for the promptest possible completion of the local self-government reform already by 2020, announced Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, according to the results of the meeting with the Association representatives.

“Local elections should take place on a new administrative-territorial basis. The key task in this regard is to strengthen the work on the approval of perspective plans so that we can reach 100% coverage of the oblasts as soon as possible. And then we will make a decision on the administrative amalgamation of hromadas according to already approved perspective plans! Besides, the Association supports the introduction of a system of administrative supervision over local self-government's activities and positively evaluates the primary healthcare reform and already observes these improvements in hromadas!” noted Hennadii Zubko.

At the same time, according to the official, there are acute issues and a joint search for compromise solutions. Most of them concern interbudgetary relations in the conditions of formation of the State Budget-2019 and the search for additional tools to increase the resource base of local budgets. The most urgent of them are the need to improve the formula for educational subvention allocation, financing of the secondary healthcare link, need to legislate the norm on payment of PIT by enterprises directly at the place of their economic activity, problematic issues of agricultural land transfer, and the need to pass draft law No. 7118 on granting land disposal right to hromadas.

“I understand that all these issues integrate the needs of many hromadas. I am convinced that we will jointly find ways to resolve them. We are always open to dialogue,” said the Vice Prime Minister.