© Getty Images The head of the relevant subcommittee, Bezgin, emphasized that the deputies should prepare the draft law for the second reading in two weeks.
During a plenary meeting on Wednesday, October 8, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine endorsed in the initial reading draft law No. 14048 “Concerning Amendments to Specific Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Assurance of Legality and Openness in the Operations of Local Self-Government Entities.” This resolution was supported by 243 people’s deputies.
Vitaliy Bezgin, who leads the pertinent subcommittee of the Verkhovna Rada, outlined the upcoming steps concerning the draft law on overseeing local government actions:
- consider the suggestions from the European Commission on concluding and provisional clauses;
- factor in the combined additional proposals from nationwide organizations of local governments;
- reach an agreement with the European Commission on the wording of the draft law for the subsequent reading;
- review it within a subcommittee and committee, then ready it for a vote during the second reading (during the following plenary week).
He mentioned that legislators should address the previously mentioned items within a fortnight.
According to the draft legislation, the agency tasked with upholding legality will conduct governmental oversight of regional council regulations, while local state administrations will guarantee the lawfulness of actions taken by village, settlement, city, and district councils within the city (if they exist), including their executive divisions and district councils.
The proposed law stipulates that instead of just one candidate, three individuals will be nominated for each head position in the district state administrations. Furthermore, a personnel pool will be established for positions as heads of regional state administrations. This pool will consist of individuals who, following competition outcomes, are advised for inclusion and satisfy the necessary general and specific criteria for candidates seeking placement in the personnel reserve.
Oversight responsibilities will be divided as follows: regional state administrations will oversee actions of district councils, while district state administrations will supervise the acts of village, settlement, city, and district councils within the city (if established), including their respective executive divisions.
As a reminder, in early September, Parliament was unable to pass another compromise bill, No. 13150, pertaining to local state administrations, an obligation under the Ukraine Facility program. As ZN.UA pointed out, neither the Parliament, nor the government, centered in the OPU, nor relevant local government associations could come to terms on how to proceed with and consolidate the decentralization reform, driven not by their own interests, but by the state’s interests.
Although the decentralization reform was the most prosperous in Ukraine, it faced a standstill. Even though communities obtained funds and powers, despite wartime adjustments and central government interventions, the supervisory aspect never materialized. Regarding the necessity of this reform and related issues, the expert and co-author elucidated to Inna Vedernikova, the domestic policy department editor, the original version of bill No. 4298 , Ihor Koliushko, the head of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms.
