Summarizing the 2015 results of implementation of the "Decentralisation Support in Ukraine" DESPRO Swiss-Ukrainian project in Vinnytsia Region Oksana Garnets underlined: "We have been working with the Vinnytsia Region for many years. This is the most active and dynamic region where you always find support both at the local level and on the part of the region authorities, and that is an optimum alternative of cooperation."

The DESPRO Project Manager in Ukraine told about the first fruits of cooperation of the Project with amalgamated territorial communities and expressed concern about the lack of required legislative results and generalisations, which fact materially complicates the work. However, both the Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, and Housing and Utilities and the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada are interested that there appear success stories of amalgamated communities, so Oksana Garnets voiced a hope that such draft laws as required would be adopted in the nearest future.

Regarding the implementation of projects in 2015 with the assistance of the DESPRO, Oksana Garnets noted: "Our Project participated in the co-financing in the amount of approximately UAH 15 million, and most of the funds were used for the construction of water supply systems. In 2015, 13 projects were chosen and launched. There are six more actually completed projects which started in 2014 and still have to receive the last tranche of funds. This year, UAH 6.3 million were also transferred for the Tulchynskyi Project and additional UAH 1.0 million for the water disposal project in Illinetskyi District."

So, the Project Manager spoke in praise of the cooperation with the Vinnytsia communities and informed that further plans for 2016 provide for the completion of what has been commenced, that is, no new bid for projects is planned during the last year of the III phase of the Project.

First Deputy Head of the Region State Administration Andrii Hyzhko thanked the DESPRO project experts for the effective cooperation emphasising that support to the decentralisation process in Ukrainian society was the initial objective of the project. "Now, we are taking up the new phase of cooperation under the project which provides for not just the construction of water supply systems as engineering structures but also the responsibility of communities for the operation and maintenance of such systems."

Andrii Hyzhko also touched on the question of amalgamation of territorial communities in the region noting that the process in Vinnytsia region was not boosted, the principle of voluntariness was followed. So, as of today, we have two amalgamated territorial communities - Kalynivska community with which the DESPRO project has already cooperated regarding the water supply matters and Studenianska community in Pishchanskyi District.

"Tentatively, the communities will get approximately 1 billion Hryvnias as a result of budgetary decentralisation in 2016, noted the official. -

That is a huge resource which may be applied for the development of the community."