A meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities has been held in Khmelnytsky with the participation of President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. More than 150 delegates from all regions of Ukraine took part in it. Vadym Boichenko became one of the representatives of the Donetsk region.
The President of Ukraine stressed that today the focus of the state is on regional development. Large-scale reconstruction of facilities has begun in various regions of the country, which are envied even in the capital.
‘The reform of local self-government has just begun. Only the first stage of the basic level has been completed. A large-scale work is ahead at the regional level. A very complex process of amendments to the Constitution regarding the administrative-territorial structure, local self-government and the Budget Code of Ukraine are ahead. We will initiate bills to optimize the revenue side of local budgets together with the government and parliament. In particular, to improve land payments, taxes on real estate, personal income and a single tax are among the tasks. It is not about increasing these taxes, but about increasing the share that remains in the field,’ the President of Ukraine noted.
Vadym Boichenko stressed that today it is important to talk about the development of Ukraine through the prism of urban development.
‘The success of each community is the success of the entire country. Mariupol shows how today you can attract investments and implement large-scale projects that change the quality of life of people. Despite the proximity to the demarcation line and the fact that the city received about 120 thousand new Mariupol residents, we were able not only to withstand, but become one of the drivers of the development of the East of Ukraine,’ Vadym Boichenko noted.
According to the Mayor, state assistance is needed for further development and strengthening of the community's potential. Only the interaction of all levels of power will make it possible to transform the country. The Congress, according to Vadym Boichenko, is an important initiative that will help establish a dialogue.
Regional Development Minister Oleksiy Chernyshov told the audience about the new version of the law "On local self-government in Ukraine". According to the document, local and regional authorities will have the opportunity to create their own executive bodies. Local state administrations will be reformatted into prefectural bodies. Their main task will be the implementation of state functions, not self-governing ones.
The Minister also spoke about the successes of the Big Construction Project. In 2020, hundreds of schools, kindergartens, Centers of Administrative Services, medical and sports facilities were reconstructed. This year it is planned to renovate more than 500 social infrastructure facilities.
In addition, the Congress discussed the importance of creating industrial parks that will help attract investment to communities. In 2021, the state finances four industrial parks. The work is already underway to create an industrial park "AzovAquaInvest" in Mariupol. This will create more than 600 new jobs.