Representatives of the Sarata Rayon of the Odesa Oblast learned about the experience of urban and rural hromadas, effective local self-government practices and functioning of starosta districts, as well as achievements in the ecological sphere, during a study visit to the Vinnytsia Oblast on 21-22 May. The event, dedicated to successful practice of solid household waste management in AHs and local economic development, was organised jointly by the Odesa, Vinnytsia and Rivne Local Government Development Centres, established with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and MinRegion of Ukraine.

The Barska AH, established on 7 September 2016 after amalgamation of the Bar City Council and the Antonivka Village Council, was the first hromada, visited by the tour participants. By attaching three small villages, the city not only did not forget about the promise to develop rural infrastructure, but also significantly exceeded the expectations.

"If you ask me about our greatest achievement, I will say that it is our amalgamation. We should have amalgamated with a much larger number of hromadas, but it happened as it happened. For a long time, nobody agreed to our proposal; in the end, we made a tour over the Dunayevetska AH in the Khmelnytskyi Oblast for our opponents. They observed its achievements and the case got under way. Maybe you will reach the same success." shared the amalgamation story the city mayor Artur Tsytsyurskyi.

The experience of the Hnivanska AH, formed last year by accession of only one village council to the city, appeared to be interesting as well. There are eight powerful enterprises, over 300 entrepreneurs in the sphere of trade and services, and a granite quarry. Paradoxically, the wealth of settlements was the biggest obstacle to their amalgamation:

The Zhdanivska rural AH, which has been operating for more than a year, was especially interesting for the representatives of the Sarata Rayon, because the hroamda amalgamated only villages without cities, so for a region with not a single city or town, such experience was particularly useful. Despite a small number of residents, the hromada is constantly increasing its economic potential. In addition, they established the first safety centre in the country, which operates via a single telephone number 911.

In addition, a separate collection of garbage was introduced in the AH, and waste separation is taught from school years, as special containers are also installed near the school.

Visit to the fourth hromada – the Kalynivska urban AH – in the framework of a study tour stands out in mind with its developed social infrastructure. This AH became the first in the Vinnytsia Oblast to amalgamate, and is one of the leaders among AHs of Ukraine.

The participants were most impressed by the city primary healthcare centre, which is the leader in Ukraine in terms of the number of declarations signed with family doctors. It is equipped with all the necessary appliances, the premises were completely reconstructed, and various medical examinations are carried out here for all categories of the population free of charge.

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