Decentralization in Ukraine: What is the next stage?

Undoubtedly, decentralization is one of the keys to the fact that Ukraine survived a full-scale war with Russia. Here it’s not even about TerDoborona/DFTG or helping displaced people, but about the very philosophy of the Ukrainian’s approach to his community/village/city.

Although the last year and a half, because of the war, there was definitely no time to talk about the future fate of decentralization, this does not mean that decentralization should not develop.

In communication with many heads of communities, virtually identical questions are asked: will the communities be consolidated? What to do with powers that are not given resources, and where to get additional resources to perform current functions? How to regulate interaction with military-civil administrations?

And also: payment of personal income tax, including “military” tax, forest reform, comprehensive spatial planning and restoration plans, where to get funds for shelter for schools and kindergartens, purchases for the Defense Forces and many others.

However, the answers to them can be found in the future of decentralization.

And communities need answers today, without delaying until the post-Peremog time. Because this is precisely the case when earlier is better, because decisions are needed “for yesterday.”

Fortunately, this dialogue has begun. Discussions started on several interconnected platforms. These are the relevant Ministry of Infrastructure, the parliamentary committee of local self-government and the Congress of Local Councils under the President of Ukraine. Let's talk a little about each of these sites.

Ministry of Development of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine. Lively discussions continue here on the roadmap for decentralization and updating the state strategy for regional development. Various experts, heads of communities and associations of local governments were involved.

A series of strategic sessions is currently underway, the results of which will form a document that will likely become a guideline for this and related ministries.

Next, it will be presented to the communities for discussion and after taking into account their proposals, the final approval of this road map will take place.

Parliamentary Committee on the organization of state power, local self-government, regional development and urban planning. This is a platform where the priority is the legislative component for communities and decentralization.

In various formats (both directly in the Committee and during off-site meetings and round tables), further proposals for changes to existing laws or future bills are discussed, developed and formed.

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities under the President of Ukraine. This is the presidential line for solving local government problems. In addition, both the legislative and executive branches of government and the local governments themselves are represented here. Meetings are held with the participation of managers of other sites and stakeholders of the areas.

In addition to meetings, a new format of work has appeared - congress hearings and meetings of the Presidium. And also an extremely important format - solving specific problems of a specific territory. In fact, this is a tete-a-tete between the central government and local government, where you can directly talk about what worries you.

The All-Ukrainian Association of Communities, as a specialized association of local government bodies, is involved in all platforms.

According to a recent study conducted by the NGO "DESPRO", here are the top 10 main problems faced by communities and local governments:

• Low motivation of qualified personnel to work in compulsory medical insurance due to low official salaries (76%; 238 people);
• Insufficient number of jobs in communities (67.2%; 210 people)
• Insufficient ability of local governments to exercise their own and delegated powers (62.5%; 195 people)
• Insufficient efficiency in the provision of housing and communal services (55.7%; 174 people)
• Inappropriate (low-quality) performance of the function of administering local taxes and fees by tax authorities (42.2%; 132 people)
• Uncertainty in the division of powers between local self-government bodies and local executive authorities (40%; 125 people)
• Decrease in revenues to the local budget due to the exemption of agricultural producers from land rental payments (36.1%; 113 people)
• Impossibility of providing communal property for rent (in settlements with signs of depression) (33.1%; 103 people)
• Leaving unchanged the reverse subsidy due to payment of military personal income tax and changes in the locations of military units (29.1%; 91 people)
• Difficulties in creating and functioning of self-organization bodies of the population (28.7%; 90 people)

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list of problems, because the following questions are also pressing:

• in the sphere of powers of local governments to resolve problematic issues in the activities of military administrations and local governments under martial law;
• in the field of legislative regulation of the procedure for introducing changes in the administrative-territorial structure of the country (determining the procedure, grounds and criteria for the formation of territorial communities and determining their administrative centers);
• in the field of strengthening the financial viability of communities - the introduction of a mechanism for compensating communities for losses of local budget income through the provision of benefits by the state to payers, resolving the issue of borrowing by rural communities, resolving the issue of administrative fees, resolving the issue of local budgets into which personal income tax should be credited, including that paid by military personnel, community activities in forestry (forested areas and “agroforests”) and water management (income from industrial fishing);
• in the social sphere: education (solving the problem of insufficient educational subsidies and shelters in educational institutions) and medicine (the issue of Medical reform for small communities is also the topic of arrangement or construction of shelters);
• in the field of completing the end of the war and restoring Ukraine (providing communities with the rights to purchase drones or other military equipment for the further transfer of such equipment not only to the defense forces, but also to units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the State National Guard Service, the NSU or the Main Intelligence Directorate).

If we talk about the practical implementation of solving these and other problems, then this must be done through at least twenty-odd bills.

We really hope that all the developments with compulsory medical insurance will be implemented. After all, decentralization is definitely not completed; it requires deep discussion and the formation of priorities, where one of the key ones, in our opinion, is the financial provision of the communities’ capacity.

Our goal now is to convey the voice of the communities wherever it needs to be heard. Successful Ukrainian communities are the key to the development of the state. Both now and after the Victory.