Kyiv, January 18, 2016. Creating unified communities on regional level and preparation to form prefectures – are the key priority for 2016. The regional districts-level state administrations in their current form need to be abolished, stated heads of district-level state administrations in Odesa region: Arsen Zhumadilov of Bilyayivska administration, Anton Turupalov – Ivanivska administration, Mykhailo Titarchuk – Bilhorod-Dnistrovska administration, Oleh Varyvoda – Mykolayivska administration and Dmytro Natalukha of Kominternivska administration. “District-level state administrations by their essence are a remnant, a relic of old Soviet governance party-based system. District-level state administrations currently do not have such powers that would not be possible to transfer to local self-governance, small part of such powers can be transferred to the regional level,” they noted.
The officials of Odesa region said one of the achievements of the Head of Odesa regional state administration Mikheil Saakashvili in office is appointing 25 heads of regional district-level state administrations, who were selected through an open competition for the first time in Ukraine’s history. Thus “decisions on appointment to the so-called ‘lucrative positions’ used to be mostly made in the closed mode over the entire period of Ukraine’s independence. Ordinary people on the street did not have a chance to become part of this process,” said heads of regional district-level state administrations of Odesa region. One of the examples of effective work by the officials chosen on competitive basis is elimination of corruption on the level of regional districts. Heads of administrations said the example of their region demonstrates that social mobility can work in Ukraine. Any Ukrainian citizen regardless of age, sex, religious beliefs can take up a managerial post without money or connections.
Main task on today’s agenda is to create the conditions under which corrupt acts would become not only impossible but also not lucrative. To achieve this, activities need to be conducted in three directions. Corruption needs to be removed at legal level – tax and customs reforms, judicial and law enforcement reforms need to be conducted. Due pay scale needs to be provided for civil servants and their number needs to be reduced, zero tolerance to corruption and inevitability of justice need to be secured. Civil control over the efforts to combat corruption and maximum public disclosure, said heads of district-level state administrations of Odesa region.