On 10 December, 10 hromadas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts presented results of cooperation with the U-LEAD with Europe Programme in Kramatorsk during “Towards the Service State” conference. More than 220,000 residents of these hromadas will receive quality services at Administrative Service Centres (ASC), established and modernised with the support of the Programme.

Seven hromadas of the Donetsk Oblast, as well as three hromadas in the Luhansk Oblast received Programme’s institutional support in establishment and modernisation of their ASCs. In cooperation with Programme experts, the hromadas have established, modernised, and approved the documents necessary for effective operation of the centres.

275 employees of the centre and activists of hromadas have undergone advanced training programme developed by the Ukrainian and Swedish experts of the Programme, which consists of five modules on the role of local self-government bodies in serving the hromada, procedure for delivery of individual groups of administrative services, business ethics, gender issues, and trainings on information and involvement of residents in the ASC’s work.

ASC employees of six hromadas have access to a modern Vulyk software complex for the ASC’s work automation, developed by the EGOV4UKRAINE project within the framework of U-LEAD with Europe. All employees of these Centres were trained to work with the complex.

Lilia Popova, Deputy Head of the Main Directorate for Monitoring, Policy Analysis and Interaction with Local Authorities and Local Self-Government Bodies, Ministry of Communities and Territories’ Development of Ukraine, noted: “A new local self-government model is being formed in Ukraine, aimed at hromada development. Our common mission is to create capable hromadas. It envisages delivery of quality services, including administrative services, to residents of villages, settlements and cities. We are grateful to the U-LEAD with Europe Programme for its assistance in the establishment, modernisation and institutional support of ASC activities, especially in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast.”

Susanna Dellans, Sida Programme Director of U-LEAD with Europe, said: “I welcome the partner hromadas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts and express my gratitude for your active stance and desire to improve the lives of your residents. Through their participation in the Programme, over 220,000 residents will receive quality services in comfortable conditions. Sweden supports the efforts of the Government of Ukraine in setting up connection with residents living along the demarcation line, and therefore the establishment of effective state, regional and local service institutions in these regions is extremely important. Establishing a system of quality administrative services is one of the key tasks of local self-government to ensure the well-being of residents and the further development of hromadas and regions.”

Also during the conference “Towards the Service State”, representatives of international technical assistance projects such as USAID Democratic Governance in Eastern Ukraine, GIZ Administrative Reform in Eastern Ukraine II, Local Governance and Decentralisation Reform component of UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme presented the results and opportunities for cooperation with the hromadas of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

Maya Gogoladze, Head of the regional office of the USAID Project “Democratic governance in Eastern Ukraine”, noted: “I am pleased that with the joint efforts of hromadas, local self-government representatives and experience of a number of international technical assistance projects, we are changing the main issue – perception of a new approach to administrative service delivery systems. In our eyes, the image of long queues with inefficient use of hromadas’ resources is changing to quick and barrier-free access of citizens to quality services provided by the state. Much work remains to be done, but the result already achieved will be a solid support for further growth.”

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