The process of consolidation of the administrative-territorial units of the base level affects the transformation of the territorial structure and subregional level. This requires a change in the system of government at the rayon level. This was emphasized by Vice Prime Minister - Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services Hennadii Zubko in the framework of discussion in the relevant parliamentary committee.

He noted that the rayons, where an amalgamated hromada (AH) is established within the entire territory, have the duplication of powers of the local self-government bodies of AHs, rayon councils and the rayon state administrations (RSAs). "There are, at the same time, the rayon state administration and the rayon council functioning with the corresponding expenses for their maintenance, as well as the executive bodies of the AH with the powers and funding determined by the legislation. The relevant rayon councils, as a rule, make decisions on monetary valuation of land and redistribution of transfers from the state budget. Rayon state administrations are also deprived of the prevailing majority of powers that are now enforced by the executive bodies of the AH Council," Zubko said.

He gave an example of the Starosyniavsky Rayon in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast, where hromadas were amalgamated according to the “one rayon - one AH” principle and where the expenditures for the maintenance of the apparatus of the RSA reach the amounts of the rayon budget’s expenditures for social protection and social security (8.1 million UAH) .

In Hennadii Zubko’s opinion, such a state of affairs causes duplication of powers of the rayon council and the RSA with those of the local self-government bodies of the AH, excessive expenses for the maintenance of the apparatus of the RSA and decreasing quality of provision of services in connection with the reduction of financing of the rayon budget in terms of education and healthcare subventions.

"The dualism of power at the level of local self-government negatively affects the processes of distribution of communal property between the AH and the rayon, complicates the jurisdiction of the executive authorities in the territory of AHs formed within different rayons," Zubko emphasized.

According to him, in accordance with the Constitution, the creation and liquidation of rayons, as well as the establishment and change of rayon boundaries are the powers of the Verkhovna Rada. "Therefore, it is the MPs who must make a decision to resolve the issue raised. There are currently four options for further actions by the Verkhovna Rada. The first one is to change the administrative-territorial structure of the rayon level within the whole country or the territory of individual oblasts. The second one is to eliminate individual rayons which have all hromadas amalgamated. The third one is to legislatively regulate and early terminate the powers of rayon councils in those rayons where all hromadas have amalgamated into one AH. The fourth one is to create a new rayon by combining into one rayon the territories of two or more adjoining rayons (the Bill number 6636)", Hennadii Zubko underlined.

He informed that the change of the administrative-territorial system would promote the efficiency of using budget funds, reducing the number of the apparatus, creating hospital districts.

For the reference:

As of 01.10.2017, 614 AHs were established, of which 201 AHs will have the first local elections on 29 October 2017. According to the forecasts of the MinRegion, by the end of 2017 more than 660 AHs will be formed, bringing together more than 3 thousand hromadas (27.1% of the total number of hromadas functioning on 01.01.2015) and about 4 million people (~ 4% of the total population of Ukraine).

As of 01.10.2017, out of 490 rayons of Ukraine:

308 rayons had voluntary amalgamation of hromadas - 614 AHs were formed;

103 rayons have more than 50% of their hromadas amalgamated;

5 rayons of 5 oblasts have all their hromadas amalgamated (the Apostolivsky Rayon of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Orihivsky Rayon of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the Hornostaivsky Rayon of the Kherson Oblast, the Letychivsky Rayon of the Khmelnytsky Oblast and the Kulikivsky Rayon of the Chernihiv Oblast);

each of 9 rayons in 8 oblasts has one AH formed within the whole territory of the rayon (the Lymanska AH of the Donetsk Oblast, the Narodytska AH of the Zhytomyr Oblast, the Velykobilozerska AH and the Chernihivska AH of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the Bilovodska AH of the Luhansk Oblast, the Podilska AH of the Odesa Oblast, the Kolomatska AH of the  Kharkiv Oblast, the Starosyniavska AH of the Khmelnytsky Oblast and the Snovska AH of the Chernihiv Oblast);

each of 4 rayons in 3 oblasts has just one hromada which is not included in the AH (the Brusylivska hromada in the Zhytomyr Oblast, the Zolochivska hromada in the Kharkiv Oblast, the Kulykivska hromada and the Sribnyanska hromada of the Chernihiv Oblast);

29 AHs of 19 oblasts are formed within the territory of 2 or 3 rayons (the Luka-Meleshkivska, Krasnopilska, Rososhanska, Hnivanska AHs of the Vinnytsia Oblast, the Ovadnivska AH and the Horodyschenska AH of the Volyn Oblast, the Lyubymivska AH of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Hlybochytska AH and the Oliivska AH of the Zhytomyr Oblast, the Novobohdanivska AH of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the Broshniv-Osadska AH of the Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, the Fursivska AH of the Kyiv Oblast, the Pomichnianska AH of the Kirovohrad Oblast, the Nyzhnyoduvanska AH of the Luhansk Oblast, the Voyutytska AH of the Lviv Oblast, the Mayakivska, Tsebrykivska and Znamyanska AHs of the Odesa Oblast, the Novohaleschynska and Senchanska AHs of the Poltava Oblast, the Demydivska AH of the Rivne Oblast, the Verkhnyosyrovatska AH of the Sumy Oblast, the Khorostkivska and  Zborivska AHs of the Ternopil Oblast, the Lyubymivska AH of the Kherson Oblast, the Hrytsivska AH of the Khmelnytsky Oblast, the Zorivska AH of the Cherkasy Oblast, theKholmynska and Olyshivska AH of the Chernihiv Oblast).