Issues of applying the successful experience of Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralization Support to Ukraine Project DESPRO in the area of decentralization and support of local governance, project participation in support of regional development in Ukraine were discussed during the conference "Decentralization in Action” carried out in Kyiv on March 16. DESPRO partners summarized the activities of the first phase of the project in 2007 - 2009 years, and discussed the main challenges and priorities for the second phase.

As the DESPRO Senior Project Coordinator in Ukraine Oksana Garnets emphasized, the budget for the second phase was increased almost twofold. "The Swiss-Ukrainian DESPRO project within the implement framework of the first phase 2007-2009 has already provided investment of 3.2 million Swiss francs (about USD 3 million.) into the projects of public services improvement, particularly water supply in the Vinnytsya oblast and AR Crimea. Since February 1 of this current year the second phase was launched, which will last until February 1, 2012, and we plan to invest 4.9 million of Swiss francs into further support of communities and applying models of decentralized services provision by expanding the geographical scope and the range of influence. Now, in addition to Vinnytsya and AR Crimea, the project will be implemented in the Sumy oblast "- stressed Oksana Garnets.

The main tasks of the second phase of DESPRO is improvement of the services quality and access to them in the target areas, as well as implementation of effective models of knowledge management in the decentralization sector and local self-government, integration of the DESPRO project experience into the activities of authorities at all levels and full support of the national reform process in strengthening the decentralization and local government. While organizational approaches and experience applied in the first phase of the DESPRO activity can be used in the framework of the future territorial and administrative reform Decentralization Support to Ukraine Project facilitates effective dialogue between different branches and levels of government, supports a broad discussion of reform in the regions. DESPRO main partner in this area is the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine.

In his turn, Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine Anatoliy Tkachuk emphasized that during the years of the DESPRO project operation a very close cooperation between the Ministry and the Swiss partners was established. Over the past few years a strong legislative and draft framework was developed: the Concept of Local Government Reform, the Draft Law on the Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, Draft Law on the Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Local Self-Government in Ukraine", Draft Law on Amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On local state administrations", the Draft Law "On administrative and territorial structure," the Draft Law "On Hero City Sevastopol," Draft Law "On procedure of administrative and territorial reform and the reform of local self-government". In addition, the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine developed a draft Concept of the Administrative and Territorial Structure of Ukraine, which went through all the approvals of the central executive bodies and is submitted for consideration of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. A draft Concept of advanced training and retraining of local government officials and deputies of local councils.

"I am convinced that any sectoral reforms or national level reforms are doomed to failure if we will not build an effective, systematic and accountable government at all levels of administrative and territorial structure", - said Anatoliy Tkachuk. He also stressed that "the activities of the DESPRO project and the new ministry staff should have synergetic character.”

In the conference activities participated: the Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office in Ukraine Manuel Etter, Deputy Minister of the Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine Anatoliy Tkachuk, First Deputy Chairman of the Vinnytsya oblast state administration Valeriy Koroviy, the Director of the Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralization Support to Ukraine Project DESPRO Juerg Christen, representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine, Ministry of Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine and other central executive bodies, management of Vinnytsya oblast and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, international organizations, representatives of the DESPRO rayon-partner as well as rural communities.
 
Photos from the Conference of the DESPRO partners "Decentralization in Action" can be viewed at this link:

despro.org.ua/knowledge-base/best-practices/galleries/9