NISPAcee 2008

Working Group on Local Government

Local Government Reforms in CEE and the CIS

Timo Aarrevaara, Research Director, University of Tampere, HEG, Finland

Mikhail Nelip, Associate Professor, National Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine

Civil servants as mediators

- A Study on Local government co-operation in the Ukraine

The position of the local administration in Ukraine depends not only on its formal rights based on legislation but on the extensive information, personal qualities and activity of the councillors and civil servants. According to the results of several surveys presented by the authors of this paper, administrative problems appear particularly in the implementation of the budget, which disrupts the functionality of the management system. The councillors understand the problems faced by their community and also the possible remedies. Resources continue to dwindle, and old problems remain unsolved as new ones appear. A great challenge for Ukrainian local government is to describe the Mayor performance problems and, based on this information, determine the stakeholders’ role.

The Ukrainian legislation, starting with the “Law on Local Self-government in the Ukraine” (1997) does not cover all the spheres of legal regulation, and in part it contradicts the Ukrainian Constitution. There are two levels of self-government: natural level (inhabitants in villages and towns) and state local self-government (regional and district Radas as the Ukrainian equivalent of the council). The autonomy of local self-government protected first of all in natural self-government. Local self-government in the Ukraine, however, still inherits the tradition of central planning system (see. e.g. Baymuratov 2000).

Christopher Pollitt (2006, 39) describes performance information as systematic information describing the outputs and outcomes of public programmes and organisations generated by systems and processes intended to produce such information. The analysis describes the local councillors and civil servants’ understanding of using performance information.

Local councils in the Ukraine suffer from diminished financial room to manoeuvre. To respond to this trend, they can increase their collaboration either with other towns, or by increasing the use of public-private partnerships.

This paper addresses two questions:

-  What are the new forms of local governance that can respond to financial challenges by using performance information?

-  What kind of information do local councillors and civil servants use to provide information about their performance to their stakeholders?

This paper has taken advantage of data collected in surveys in 1995-96 and 2005-06 in two local Radas, two district Radas, and one city Rada, and the survey was completed by interviews in autumn 2006 and 2007. The survey collected data on councillors' views on the tasks of local administration, areas for the relationships between central and local administration co-operation with other tiers of administration and councillors’ ideas about power. Materials for this paper are based on interviews with leaders of Radas and civil servants carried out in September-October 2007 Malyn, Korosten, Letytshiv and Korosten. The information is compared to surveys collected between 1995-2007 from two local Radas, two district Radas and two city Radas.

The local government and its representatives

Local authorities in Ukraine aim to represent modern conditions, general characteristics and the progress of identified organisational structures of the state local administration. In organisational development, attention is paid to the division of labour between local government and local state administrations as descried in the Law on self-government of 1997. The recent legislation represents the idea of determination of plenary powers of executive power. In particular, two positions have been traced in relation to the essence of this problem. The first position determines the plenary powers of local state administrations as a component part of their jurisdiction or functions. The second interprets the indicated plenary powers as executive, which are carried out according to the strict letter of the law.

Formation of district (in a city) Radas goes the same way as in the countryside (according to the Law of Ukraine “On the elections of the deputies of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, the local Radas and the village, selische and town Mayors”). District Radas (if created) and their executive organs manage real estate and other property of the communities (gromadas) according the Constitution and the laws of Ukraine. They form, adopt and carry out corresponding budgets and control their use and realize other functions envisaged by the Radas. The scale and the limits of district Rada authority are defined (determined) by the city (superior) Rada, considering the interests of the city community and general needs of the city population.

The oblast and region Radas have other nature than village (selische, town) ones. They are not the representative organs of the oblast and region communities (gromadas). The Constitution of Ukraine does not consider the population of oblast or region to be the subject of the local self-government. That’s one the oblast and district Rada’s are defined like the organs of the local self government, which represent the common interests the territorial communities (gromadas) of the villages (selische, town) within the rights which are determined by the Constitution of Ukraine, the Law on the elections of the deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, the local Radas and the village ( selische and town) Mayors (goliv).

Chairman is the head of the oblast or region Rada. He or she is elected among the deputies by secret ballot for the four year period. Mayors authority can be terminated earlier by the two-thirds deputies secret vote. The head of the Rada works on the full-time basis, has no other representative mandate, cannot practice other activities, including the public or social except lecturing or scientific activity after working hours. Mayor is forbidden to take part in any business activity and to get profit of it (business prohibition). The Rada can form its presidium (collegium), that consists of the head, his deputy, heads of the permanent commissions of the Rada (Soviet).

The presidium works out proposals and recommendations to be discussed during next sessions (meetings) of Rada and may adopt decisions which are of the same nature The oblast and region Rada can form its own executive organs. Their structure and personnel is approved by Rada following proposals of the Chairman. Chairman is also the head of the executive staff of the Rada .

The village (selische, town) Mayor (golova) holds specific position in the system of the self-government in Ukraine, because he or she is the main official of the territorial community of the village (selische , town). The Mayor has three main functions:

-  represents the territorial community in relationship with other territorial communities, state power administration, other state institutions and organizations;

-  is the (presiding) chairman on the meetings of Rada;

-  is the chairman of the Rada [1].

The Constitutional model of the local self government in Ukraine is being characterized by the definite double character as a civil servant in Village (selische, town) Mayor (golova) and also as a chairman of the Rada. The Mayor is elected by the appropriate territorial community by general, direct and equal right secret vote for four years. The process of the election of the Mayor is adopted by the Law of Ukraine “On the elections of the deputies of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea, the local Radas and the village, selische and town Mayors”. The Mayor effects his functions on the full-time basis.

The village( selische, town) Mayor is elected according the Mayor-based management model electoral system of the relative majority on one mandate electoral district. Its frontiers coincide with the frontiers of the village (selische, town). The authority of the Mayor starts from the very moment of declaration of the vote results.

Adjusting the effective system of local government depends largely on new legislation being written. The higher regional levels of the modern system of self-government in Ukraine are regional Radas, which under current legislation, are provided with wide latitude in relation to the decision of general local difficulties. District councils belong to the middle regional level of the system of local self-government and have fewer plenary powers. Efficient functioning of all systems of local self-government in the Ukraine depends on co-ordination and appropriate action based on local advice at all levels.

Organizational, legal, informational analytical and supply support of Rada activity is effected by the executive staff of the Rada. The reform of the local authorities was cancelleded on February 3, 1994 by the Supreme Soviet adopting the Law “On formation of the local power and self-government.” The power in the territories was given back to the Radas and their executive committees.

On the 28th of June, 1996 with the adoption of the new Constitution of Ukraine, the 6-year period of looking for the self-governance model has come to an end. The special status granted to local authorities became the basis for the new constitutional state.

First of all articles 5, 7, 13, 19, 38, 40, 71, 118, special chapter XI of the Constitution of Ukraine are dealing with self-government. Article 7 is the most important proclaiming, recognizing and guaranteeing the self-government. The Constitution of Ukraine on the highest state level adopted and re-confirmed self-government as a basic constitutional institute. Ar. 146 of the Constitution stresses that all other items of organization, formation and activity are stipulated by Law. The new Law of Ukraine “On the local self-government in Ukraine” of May 21, 1997 has fixed classic elements of the constitutional regulation. It fixed legal status of the self-government institutions and their authority, protection and legal responsibility of the self-government structures.

Analysis of the Law proves that it complies with the European Charter on the Self-government (ratified by the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine on July 15, 1997. The process of improving the self-government system goes on. New draft of the law on the local self-government should settle collisions in the sphere and give its organs independent financial basis.

Need for reforms in local administration

Based on a summary of the activities of local state administrations and local self-government, we conclude, that there are several political, legal and financial problems, which stand as an obstacle for the intended performance. In comparing with other public bodies, local self-government is closest to ordinary citizens, and is most competent in relation to the provision of administrative services. Research results indicate that in the Ukraine, processes required for functioning of management at the local level are imperfect. This includes unique systems of power which relate to interactions between the public and local self-government authorities.

In relation to the decentralisation state administration as a constituent of the development of the democratic state, several ways of optimising co-operation between the public and local self-government authorities are suggested. Thus, it is necessary to distinguish the principles of organisation and activity of executive public and local self-government authorities and organisation of their relations. The feature of the last is that they appear in the process of co-operation. It will provide for complex development of separate regions, will create favourable terms for economic growth in the regions and for their successful integration into the global economy. Such policies can be predetermined through the objective necessity of the balanced and optimised use of a country’s natural resources.

In the Ukraine, all levels of administration should formulate such conceptions of public regional policy. The embodiment of these ideas will enable the inculcation of effective mechanisms for finding balance between centralised and decentralized tendencies in the Ukraine. It will also define the territorial unity of the state and create the necessary terms of reference for the gradual expansion of plenary powers in the territories, their independence (with the simultaneous increase in their responsibility), and also will provide the environment for the proper “coexistence” of central executive power and the local authority system. It is necessary to note that independent states always have their own, unique system of local government and self-government in the modern world. This propensity is related to the historical, national, political, administrative features of each state.

Based on the interviews used to prepare material for this paper, it is obvious that modern the control system at local level in the Ukraine does not meet European standards, particularly the absence of an effective intermediate level of management. At the same time, putting forward appropriate changes to the institution of local government should not be based on past errors. If international experiences are examined in detail within a complex study, research has the potential to avoid mistakes, time wasting and to save resources in the performance of local government. A country should take into account the relationships between central and local administration the experience of other countries. The project “Conception of the reformation of public administration of Ukraine” is analyzed as a constituent of the increase the relationships between central and local administration role of local self-government. In particular, to the certain conclusions have an experiment, which is conducted in accordance with Ukrainian law “State legal experiment for the development of local self-government in the city of Irpen, and the villages of Bucha, Vorzel, Gostomel, Kotzyubynske of Kiev region” from 5 April 2001.

Local Democracy not a reflection of the Parliament

The political parties represented in these Radas are the main parties also in Supreme Rada. In the Right-center there is NDP which supports President Victor Yushchenko. It is far less important actor in these local Radas comparing its weighting in the Parliament. In the right-center there is also Block Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) supporting acting Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Our Ukraine (Nasha Ukraina, NU) is strong party block with national-democratic character. In the center-left there is Party of Regions, which is most influential political party in local Radas with almost every third supporting this party, but social democrats are now small. In the left there is Socialist Party as well as Communist Party (CPU).

It is typical for Ukraine, that political parties share of votes in local elections differs from their share of seats in the Parliament. This is due the strong tradition of local representatives representing suburb or working place. These councillors were respected persons and they also knew their voters and their needs. The materials for this paper tells about disaffection of the representatives role as a local mediators. As an expression of this, during their mandate local councillors support often other party than during elections, and changing a party or background organization is typical to local Rada members. According to surveys for this paper every fifth respondent was nominated as a candidate in elections by their working places or social organization. Data of this paper gives evident, that as soon as the left-wing parties, NU and BYuT blocks call for presidential campaign, the commuting between parties becomes stronger.