“For a long time there has been a question of how to fight corruption – it is important for European companies willing to invest in Ukraine. Decentralisation makes it possible to control and influence decision-making. It is important that such decisions are made locally. Local self-governments gained the opportunity to develop territories. Therefore, the European partners assess the decentralisation reform as the most successful in Ukraine,” said Wolfgang Mössinger, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, during the Interregional Conference “Decentralisation in Action: place of “rayon” in the new administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine”, held on 20 June in Melitopol, with the support of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.

Since 2014, more than 30 laws, which transferred powers to local self-government bodies, have been adopted in Ukraine. “Due to the reform, hromadas managed to significantly increase budgets, according to the forecast for the current year, we can talk about 38%. Moreover, for the first time in the history of Ukraine's independence, the share of local budgets in the consolidated state budget amounted to over 51%,” noted Serhiy Sharshov, Director General of the Directorate for the Development of Local Self-Government, Territorial Organisation of Power and Administrative-Territorial Structure of the Ministry of Regional Development, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine. “The process of hromadas’ amalgamation continues. And the Zaporizhzhia Oblast is the champion in it.”

"There are 48 amalgamated hromadas established in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast so far, which united 172 local councils. In 2015, 6 AHs were formed, in 2016 and 2017 – 18 in each year, this year there have already been 6 new AHs formed,” said Zinayida Boyko, Head of Administration of the Zaporizhzhya Oblast State Administration, “Currently, three rayons are entirely covered with AHs, seven rayons are covered by up to 49%, and 10 rayons of the oblast – by more than 50%. In this regard, the question on duplication of powers of the rayon and AH authorities arises”.

Therefore, according to Kostyantyn Bryl, Head of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast State Administration, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast there has been a redistribution of 70 staffing positions from rayon state administrations to the oblast state administration, which is connected with a decrease in RSA’s functions and an increase in the workload in the oblast administration.

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