Meeting at the Ministry of Finance
The issue of strengthening municipal creditworthiness is an essential precondition for the successful implementation of development projects by municipalities. As part of the implementation of MFSI Project tasks, the Budget Institute has drafted the relevant amendments to the Budget Code.
The proposed amendments have been forwarded to the First Deputy Head of the Administration of the President, Mrs. I. Akimova, and to the Association of Ukrainian Cities, for their subsequent presentation to and discussion in the Budget Committee of the Verkhovna Rada.
The Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee, chaired by V. Baranov held a discussion of the Main Directions of 2012 Budget Policy in March 2011. At this meeting the Budget Code amendments proposed by the MFSI Project were also discussed.
Later on, these MFSI proposals were endorsed by the 7th Financial and Economic Forum: Strengthening the Financial Capacity for Local Development held by IBSER on 31 March 2011.
The steps taken by IBSER have resulted in a meeting at the Ministry of Finance on 22 April 2011 under the chairmanship of S. Makatsariya, Director of the Department of State Debt and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance. The meeting was attended by the representatives of other departments within the Ministry of Finance, as well as European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and IBSER.
An active discussion of the draft amendments to the Budget Code took place at the meeting, where the representatives of IBSER and EBRD had an opportunity to provide clarifications and justifications for the proposed changes.
The meeting resulted in the Ministry of Finance agreeing in general to issue its positive conclusion to the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee with regard to the proposed changes.
The adoption of these amendments by the Verkhovna Rada will contribute to providing better access for local communities to the resources needed for financing their development projects.
Glyanec