At its meeting on 6 October, the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Organisation of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning backed Draft Law No. 14029, which proposes depoliticising and professionalising the work of heads of local state administrations.

The idea behind the draft law is simple yet strategic: heads of local state administrations should not be political figures, but professional managers, who are capable of implementing state policy effectively at the local level.

The draft law stipulates the appointment of heads and deputy heads of local state administrations:

• at an open competition;
• granting civil servant status to senior administrative staff;
• creating a personnel reserve for training future leaders;
• establishing a term limit for holding office in a single administrative-territorial unit.

These changes should enhance the stability and professionalism of the public administration system, strengthen its institutional capacity and establish a fair balance of power between central and local authorities.

After reviewing the draft law, the Committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada include it in the agenda of the fourteenth session and support it in the first reading.