In times of crisis, it is very important to be able to work proactively, to anticipate the issues that will be on the agenda in the near future. Almost every Ukrainian is waiting for the de-occupation of Ukrainian territories, including Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Therefore, it is necessary to develop solutions now that will help reintegrate these territories and restore peaceful life.
“The All-Ukrainian Association for Community Self-Organization Assistance, in cooperation with the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, the Luhansk Oblast Civic Initiative, and the Association for Renaissance and Development, are working on research and solutions in four areas that have been identified as priorities in this regard. As part of this work, expert discussions are held in each of these areas based on the research. Recently, the second such discussion took place in Kyiv, which was held within the framework of the project “Formation of Conceptual and Legal Framework for the Institutional Restoration of Donbas” supported by the International Renaissance Foundation. The topic of the event was the state and problems of public administration staffing in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
The discussion was attended by scholars, representatives of the Government, military administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as members of civil society institutions dealing with issues related to the region.
“We very much hope that the issue of de-occupation of the Ukrainian Donbas, Donetsk and Luhansk regions is a matter of the near future. We believe in it. That is why we want to have answers to important questions by the time this happens, so that we can help the state to respond appropriately to these aspects,” said Oleksiy Orlovsky, Director of the Democracy and Good Governance Program at the International Renaissance Foundation, at the beginning of the meeting.
Therefore, within the framework of the project, experts conducted a thorough study of the problem of public administration staffing in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, which formed the basis of the discussion.
Oleksiy Kolesnikov, Chairman of the Association for the Promotion of Community Self-Organization, presented the results of the study: “One of the components was that we analyzed the regulatory framework, but it is very voluminous, so we focused on what emerged during the war and analyzed how the civil service, public service, and, in particular, staffing adapted to martial law and war conditions.”
In other words, they studied the current situation of staffing in the region’s institutions and determined how serious the problem of staff shortages is today.
Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service Nataliia Aliushyna spoke about the steps that have already been taken by the state and those that are still planned to address the problems discussed. She noted that the NAUCS is currently preparing a base of specialists who will have sufficient competencies and experience to ensure a high-quality level of public administration in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. In addition, she noted that such work is underway for other regions, including Zaporizhzhia and Crimea. Another area of the Agency’s work is the adaptation of the regulatory framework to meet the challenges caused by the war.
“For the past eight years, our organization has been specializing in legislative expertise and issues related to these regions. During this time, we have collected a lot of information and it completely coincides with what is presented in the study. I was very pleased to see all this conceptualized in the form of a thorough study, not just the usual theses,” shared his impressions Stanislav Fedorchuk, Chairman of the Board of the Ukrainian People’s Council of Donetsk and Luhansk.
“The study was another step that, as we can see, has generated very lively discussions. But these discussions eventually lead to decisions,” summarized Iryna Gaiduchyk, moderator of the event.
The organizers also announced the next meeting on the administrative-territorial structure, which will also be based on the analytical study of the project experts.
