The International Republican Institute has invited the representatives of local government from the whole Ukraine to the annual Conference of Democratic Governance for the fourth consecutive year. City mayors, municipal workers and deputies discuss main management problems and share their experience.
The deputies Olga Pikula and Kirill Papakitsa together with colleagues from other regions discussed healthcare reform, the issues of building a transparent housing and communal services, an effective communication between the authorities and the population as well as the prospects of creating new workplaces, innovations and a creative economy.
It is worth noting that these deputies represent ‘Joint partnership for modern Mariupol’ deputy group in Mariupol City Council.
People's deputies are proud that Mariupol, according to the fourth annual rating of Ukrainian cities conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI), has become a leader among the cities where citizens are satisfied with the work of local authorities.
The Mayor of the city Vadim Boychenko admitted that good results were achieved due to the synergy of the executive bodies and the deputy corps. ‘Such events give us the opportunity to follow the city's rating which is based on the opinion of the citizens of Mariupol . For us, as representatives of the authorities, it is important to understand how positively our cititzens evaluate the chosen vector of development of Mariupol and the changes that take place in the city,’ Olga Pikula said.
At the forum, one of the speakers raised the issue of population migration. As Olga Pikula noted, there is much concern about it in Mariupol. ‘As a front-line city, Mariupol has to compete for its youth not only with European countries such as Poland but also with other large cities of Ukraine,’ she said. In her opinion, the infrastructure development of the city, the creation of modern educational and cultural locations as well as constant communication and an exchange of opinions with young people are the priority tasks of the city government.
‘The deputy corps of Mariupol is united in development of its city. Of course, there are disagreements but in general we always reach a compromise,’ Kirill Papakitsa said.
