“I have worked in the bodies of local self-government, then at the post of the Vice Prime Minister in the Government being responsible for construction, housing and communal services and regional policy sector. I believe that reforms should be implemented with consideration of local self-government problems,” he said. According to him, the main thing is that “there should be decentralization of management and financial system in the unitary state, like Ukraine”.
V.Rybak reminded that in 2006-2007, when V.Yanukovych was the Prime Minister, the necessary share of local budgets in the consolidated budget was determined. It was planned to increase it by 5 per cent annually. According to him, it amounted to 39,8 per cent in September 2006; in 2007, by the suggestion of the Prime Minister, it reached 45 per cent; and finally, the figure was established at the level of 49-50 per cent. The Chairman of the Parliament stressed that as soon as the political situation changed, “tendencies towards centralization strengthened again”. “Centralization is negative both for unitary and federative state, since, all funds are concentrated in Kyiv and local problems remain unsolved,” he said.
The Chairman of the Parliament believes that the situation under which “representatives of local self-government go to Kyiv to ask for money and receive funds according to the principle ‘if I want I will give, if not – I will not’, and then criticize central authorities, trying to hide their inactivity” needs to be changed. He said that some funds should remain in the state, in Kyiv, for implementing its authorities, maintaining institutions, and the rest, approximately at the level of 60-65 per cent, should be directed to regions. “Then people will if fact feel that local authorities work, regions and state in general is developing, and that life improves,” he said. The Chairman added that “governors of all local branches of power should be elected by citizens that have the right to withdraw those who did not answer their expectations”.
V.Rybak believes that these changes should be fixed at the legislative level. He reminded that the Constitutional Assembly is preparing respective suggestions and did not exclude that it would be suggested to decentralize finance and power.
He stressed also that the State Budget will be most balanced if all stages of its preparation are prescribed in legislation, starting from the moment of its formation and consideration at the local level, etc.
Full text of the interview is published in the
newspaper “Holos Ukrainy” (“Voice of Ukraine”) of December 25, 2012.