“I want to remind the leadership of oblast state administrations and oblast councils of our joint responsibility to hromadas willing to amalgamate or access in order to establish capable hromadas. They expect the soonest possible development and adoption of perspective plans for the entire oblast territory. Without this document, they can not predict their development and take advantage of the reform. The government has given the OSA appropriate orders, and the term for their implementation is already almost over,” said Vyacheslav Nehoda, First Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, addressing oblast leaders.

According to MinRegion, only eight out of 24 oblasts – the Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Luhansk, Rivne, Ternopil, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi and Chernihiv Oblasts – have perspective plans for the formation of hromadas’ territories, covering 100% of the region’s territory. And only two of these oblasts – the Kirovohrad and Rivne ones – have their perspective plans approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

According to Vyacheslav Nehoda, most hromadas, located on the territories not included in perspective plans, do not see development prospects and cannot access the cities of oblast significance and already established AHs, as it contradicts the law.

“Besides, the perspective plans and their draft changes include cities of oblast significance without taking into account the possibility of their amalgamation with neighbouring hromadas. As a result, most of suburban rural and settlement hromadas, which tend to have a common social and communal infrastructure with cities, are deprived of the opportunity to join these cities and become more investment-attractive territories and to be leaders in the development of the entire oblast. Therefore, it is very important to make appropriate changes to the perspecive plans and do it as soon as possible so that hromadas finally begin to use their legitimate right to development,” emphasised Vyacheslav Nehoda.

It should be reminded that during the expanded governmental meeting in Vinnytsia on 5 April 2018, Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman instructed the heads of oblast state administrations to ensure the elaboration of acts amending the perspective plans for the formation of the territories of oblasts, envisaging coverage of the entire oblast territory by them and submitting them to the appropriate oblast councils for consideration, within a three-month period, that is, until 5 July.

Earlier, in February 2018, MinRegion, responsible for implementation of the reform of local self-government and territorial organisation of power, determined the task of oblast state administrations to develop and submit perspective plans for the formation of capable hromadas within 100% of the region’s territory for the Government’s approval.