The Social Service of Ukraine NGO held a meeting on 31 March with residents of the Reshetylivka raion, Poltava oblast, regarding the distribution of the revenues from extraction of oil and gas, which will help facilitate the development of local communities.
Two companies Ukrgazvydobuvannia and Ukrnafta are engaged in gas extraction in the raion. The representatives of the local community were interested most in the following matters: Whether those companies will provide jobs; what will be the sources of financing for repair of roads and laying of water lines; and whether their budget will really be receiving 3% of rent starting on 1 January 2018?
Yaroslav Shevchenko, expert of the Social Service of Ukraine NGO, has explained the phases of implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Ukraine. He has also provided information about the oil and gas reserves in the Poltava region, and explained to the community representatives the benefits from extraction of hydrocarbons in the jurisdiction of the Amalgamated Territorial Community (ATC).
The Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Reshetylivka ATC Oleksandr Trynchuk has thanked the nongovernmental organizations, which are disclosing the information about activities of extractive companies in the Reshetylivka raion. He has noted: “We need reliable information, which would allow making effective management decisions.” The Deputy Chairman of the Reshetylivka ATC Ivan Cherkun has added: “It is vital to disclose information about the actual volume of hydrocarbon extraction and payments to the budget, as without it we will not be able to use natural resources efficiently and with benefit for local communities.”
The event was conducted as part of the USAID Municipal Finance Strengthening Initiative (MFSI-II) Rollout Project.
Glyanec