PM Groysman: Draft budget for 2018 foresees further decentralization

"Decentralization exists in the draft law [on the national budget] and evolves... Nobody will be allowed to destroy it," the prime minister said during a traditional Q&A session in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on November 17.

According to the official, the transfer of finance and powers to the local authorities will continue next year. He also called the opposite statements "fake."

"Now people, who did not support decentralization in 2014-2015, speak about its destruction. They make fake statements now," he stressed.

Read alsoPM Groysman announces benchmarks of Ukraine's 2018 budgetAs UNIAN reported earlier, the Verkhovna Rada on November 14 adopted as the basis the government-drafted budget of Ukraine for 2018 with a deficit of UAH 77.9 billion, or 2.4% of GDP, with a number of amendments, according to the conclusion of the Budget Committee. The draft budget envisages a 36% increase in revenues of the local budgets in 2018. Some UAH 8.1 billion will be allocated from the Regional Development Fund for the implementation of local projects.

During debates on the budget, some MPs blamed the government for the transfer of financial obligations before vocational colleges from the national budget to the local ones.