Organised waste collection, a well-arranged village centre, new equipment and facilities – participants of a press tour organised by the Cherkasy Local Government Development Centre of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme learnt the development of amalgamated hromadas in the heart of Ukraine.

The Chyhyrynska and Medvedivska hromadas have been operating for less than a year, but already have significant achievements.

According to Viktor Kharchenko, head of the Chyhyrynska AH, “to summarise the benefits of decentralisation, the budget of Chyhyryn and the villages that became part of the hromada before amalgamation was 28 million hryvnias, today our AH budget is about 90 million. 55 million of these funds are hromada’s own revenues, 33 million come as a personal income tax, land and single taxes.”

The hromada received about UAH 4 million of infrastructure subvention from the state budget, the funds are directed to eight projects: repair of four roads in Subotiv, Stetsivka, Krasnosillya and Cherneche, construction of three children's playgrounds and reconstruction of the recreation area near the Hromada Development Centre in Tinky.

A T-150 tractor was purchased with a co-financing from the oblast (funds of the oblast environmental fund) for the communal enterprise “Single Settlement Centre”.

It should be noted that the communal enterprise of the Chyhyrynska hromada earns money independently – works with people to conclude contracts for services, and provides them in a timely and qualitative way: removes solid household waste, repairs the roofs of apartment buildings, arranges places of rest, bus stops, repairs street lighting, etc.

The Chyhyrynska AH together with other hromadas of the oblast signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the National Police, and two police officers will soon start working in the hromada.

At the same time, the neighbouring Medvedivska hromada is preparing to open a family medicine outpatient clinic, built from scratch with state budget co-financing.

The hromada will soon conclude an agreement with the Cherkasy State Technological University, and a base for students to practice forestry and park economy, helping the hromada to create landscape design of their territories, will be created in the part of the former kindergarten.

Both hromadas have great tourist potential: this is where the mass of historical monuments and places related to the statehood of Ukraine are concentrated.

All this can provide a powerful impetus for development and form a successful future for both hromadas.