Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Groysman has warned the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine against the rolling up of the budget decentralization in the country in 2016, having said that this decentralization had proved to be effective this year.
Groysman said this at the Thursday extraordinary plenary meeting of the Ukrainian Parliament during the Government's presentation of the draft state budget for 2016.
"I believe that the draft state budget for 2016 envisions centralization instead of the decentralization. I see ruining of the principle of the decentralization in it," the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada said.
He noted that shortening of local budgets would lead to the ruining of the decentralization in Ukraine, and added that such actions are unacceptable.
Groysman said that budget decentralization must not be abolished as it resulted in the growth of local budgets by 40%. He said that the budget decentralization's effectiveness can be proved with the fact that local budgets this year still have the unused funds balance of UAH 26 billion.
"Do not play with concepts. We have to sit at the table and discuss the system that has proved its efficiency. The growth of local budgets by 40% — this is the system rolled out by the Government and the Parliament, this is what was approved by the President of Ukraine in 2015. Ruining it is unacceptable," the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada said.