Now that the local and parliamentary elections are being held separately for the first time, it is possible to pay more attention to the problems of local government than before.
We have often written about the inadequacies of the local elections law, which is often criticized by European organizations, about pressure on the opposition, arrests of mayors, the situation in the provinces, etc. But, on the whole, the mass media, especially in the center, have been spotlighting the problems connected with the election of city mayors, and regional and municipal councils. What the journalist’s eye or pen could reach at the most was the district level.
Today we suggest looking deeper still — at the level of the village, the lowest nucleus of local government. It is a nucleus to which the state has done more harm than good in all the years of independence. It is therefore very important to hear the people who run a village council in extreme conditions.
Natalia Drab has been working at the Radhospne village council, Skadovsk district, Kherson oblast, since 1982. Before that, she was a deputy principal of the local school. Reelected eight times, she is one of those people who have first-hand knowledge of rural problems, especially those of the Radhospne village council, which embraces five populated areas within a radius of 30 km. It is almost 12,000 ha of land with the main village of Radhospne (about 1,100 people) and four smaller villages with a population of 250-350.
Ms. Drab, your successful decades-long work as chairperson of the Radhospne village council and, what is more, the public trust you command, arouse great respect. I wonder if you are planning to run for office again, for the fourth time.
“Yes, I have been nominated and already registered my candidature. I don’t know whether I will be elected. It is in the hands of fate.”
Are you running on a party ticket or by way of self-nomination?
“I chose to run on the Party of Regions’ ticket.”
How many candidates are running for village council head?
“Five, including me: three self-nominees, one from the United Center party, and I from the Party of Regions. As for village council deputies, most of the candidates are also self-nominated.”
We have heard many times that incumbent village council heads who are planning to be reelected on the ticket of a party other than the one in power are subject to various kinds of pressure. Have you ever experienced this kind of pressure? Why did you choose the Party of Regions?
“I have been in office for a very long time, so it is difficult to force me to do what I do not understand or do not need. I’ll tell you this. I was previously in the Peasant Party. Why? Because I had some support from the Verkhovna Rada — this party was represented in parliament. They helped a child to be operated on or a school problem to be solved somewhere, etc… You know very well that, given our possibilities at the local level, especially in the countryside, it is difficult to do anything unless you enjoy support ‘from above.’ I was in the Peasant Party from the 1990s on, I had people, we worked — even long after this party left parliament. I will tell you honestly: I have seen, especially in the past five years, that you can do nothing for your community unless you belong to the ruling party. So, not to be in a ‘suspended condition,’ you must be connected to somebody or something. Unfortunately, these are the realities of today’s Ukraine. In other words, the current situation is that you can either stand up for your principles or do something for your community.
“A few years ago I came to Kyiv for a conference on rural socioeconomic development. When we went to a section session, someone said: ‘There is a village head here. Can she express her opinion?’ I spoke my mind for 20 minutes and asked in conclusion: ‘Is there anybody here, who took part in drafting the decision on agro-industrial reform?’ ‘Yes, there is one,’ I was told. So I said to them, ‘By this decision, you’ve steamrolled over the countryside, you’ve in fact destroyed it.’ A certain academic answered me, ‘Yes, I am a coauthor of this decision, but I obeyed an instruction.’ Imagine that, instead of looking out for the interests of those whom he was legislating, this man only cared about following orders.
“Another example. There was also a conference, and I even had the honor of being in a task force and speak on social policies in the countryside. I am a practitioner in general, and if I am invited onto the podium, I will speak about real things so that at least something can be changed in this state. I am not going to approve something blindly. So when I finished speaking, an academic came out and said, ‘Ms. Drab, your speech is a breath of fresh air, but nobody needs it here because we are following orders.’ A week later I was told that I had been expelled from the task force.
“I also remember a parliament member say ‘Yes, there was a policy aimed at destroying the countryside and then rebuilding it in line with new standards.’ As a result, as usual, it was ruined but not rebuilt. It is very painful for me, a person who knows about this subject, that this ruination was preprogrammed, because you can’t ruin the countryside just like that. One must ‘work very hard’ to do so.
“I have broad experience of working in this office, I have seen all kinds of politicians, and I must say that the point is not in a party or a specific period — the problem is in the system. After seeing all that I have told you, I came to a conclusion that the government is only doing what it wants to do, and it wants nothing to be changed. But I know that it is easy to change something — all you need is will. For example, I tried to do many things in my village — I succeeded in some and failed in others, but my main goal was to protect villagers from the ‘mayhem’ inflicted on them. For me, the village is a cry from the heart. Yes, I made some mistakes and I admit this (for which I was criticized), but the main thing is to draw conclusions and move on.”
Indeed, the state has not done much for rural inhabitants over the years. There are very many problems here, but I would like you to address one of the most acute of them — the prospects for young people in the countryside. How are you tackling this problem in your village?
“Yes, we are also facing this problem. The collapse of the Soviet Union also eliminated the youth movement (Little Octobrists, Pioneers, Komsomol). Naturally, all this is a thing of the past, but the trouble is that independent Ukraine has failed to launch an alternative movement that would unite young people.
“Still, there are also good things in our village. We have young deputies. Moreover, in the past two or three months we have formed (because of instructions from the district) a youth group at the village council’s executive committee. We have already had several sessions and mapped out the main strategies of work for this council. We have formed such cells in each of our villages, with due account of all their proposals. In general, people should be trained to assume the office of village head or council member. They should have a clear idea of what a village council is, what problems it addresses, what a village budget is, etc. The goal is that young people should be prepared for work by the time of the next local elections, no matter what party they represent. The local community will know what they have done and how they have worked. But we educate young people not only at the village council. We have also agreed with the job center director that he will come to us and explain, for example, how one can draw a loan to start a business on one’s own. Besides, we are requesting lawyers to visit us and hold consultations because many of our residents do not know their rights at all.
“What do I think can lure young people back to the village? I hit upon an idea, and in 2003 we set up a public-utility water facility, but people were too cash-strapped at the time to pay back, so the facility went bankrupt. We even wrote in the statute that it would deal with not only water issues but also with funerals, land cultivation, greenery planting, that is, all that former collective or state-run farms used to do. I asked for a loan in order to establish a normal public-utility business on the village council’s territory, where young people could also work. If we had been given this money, we would have begun to work and could return these funds later. For we do have people who can work at this enterprise — they can do construction and electric welding work, plant trees and shrubs, install the water supply, cultivate land, remove garbage, etc. Unfortunately, I never received any support from the government.”
What do you think about the new law on local elections? Do you think it improves or worsens the process of candidate nomination at the local level?
“In general, this law provides for no radical changes in the countryside. The only problem, in my opinion, is too short a period for submitting documents, registering candidates, etc. There are also too many papers, which gets on the nerves of many of those who wish to run for office. As for parties, people still have a choice at the level of a village, but what about the level of a city? These parties just tear people apart.”
What is your attitude to the idea of leveling the terms of office for the heads of state, parliament and the local government by giving all of them an opportunity to work for five years?
“I also worked when the term was two and a half years, four years… I do not think an additional year will play any special role. I’ll tell you this: an individual who is holding the office of village council head for the first time will be busy in the first two years learning the laws and understanding where he or she is now, then, in the third year, they begin to use this knowledge, and only in the fourth and fifth year do they begin to work at full steam. This is my opinion.”
After restoring the old Constitution, the president has repeatedly emphasized that it is necessary to amend the Fundamental Law, as far as local governments are concerned. Your advice on this matter?
“As far as I know, an administrative and territorial reform is in the pipeline. But we know nothing about it. We hear that something is being drawn up somewhere, and some commissions are in session, but there are no details. As for villagers, at the level of rural councils, the representative and executive branches are in one person. Hence a piece of advice: do not tie up the village council secretary to the deputies corps. In general, it is very difficult to find somebody in a village, who will work as secretary, and if she, for example, goes on maternity leave, it is practically impossible to fill the vacancy. I have more than once said this on behalf of my colleagues, but nothing has changed.
“Next. There is an executive branch that makes and is responsible for decisions. But even if a trivial problem is to be solved, we have to convene a council session. For me this means that people from five populated areas must be driven to the central village several times a month in order to make some changes, for example, to switch from one code to another.
“On the other hand, if these sessions have been convened, that is, there is a deputies’ corps, why should we form standing commissions? I think, to solve a certain problem, it would be enough to form an ad hoc commission, i.e., select a few influential rural deputies for checking or solving a specific problem. At the level of the Verkhovna Rada or a regional council, where there are experts and competent people, questions can be discussed in separate spheres, but at the level of a village there are people to form these standing commissions. I have also been raising this question, only to be told that there must be commissions.
“As for the solution of financial problems, it would be good if the problems of funding were clearly delimited. If the local government has been vested with certain powers, the latter should be duly financed. The Constitution of Ukraine says that if the state devolves some powers, it must make sure that they are properly funded. Instead, we are 100 percent dependent on what the state budget will give us — in other words, everything is decided ‘upstairs.’ But the village council should decide by itself how much money it needs and what for. Besides, we are funded on the principle of leftovers.
“I was in Poland a few years ago, where I met some of my counterparts. They have the smallest communes known as gminas. So I spoke to a gmina head. I asked him what budget he has. He said the budget of his gmina, where 2,500 people live (like in my commune), was 2.5 million dollars. I told him, for the sake of comparison, that my village’s budget (at the time) was 300,000 hryvnias. He did not get me at first and asked again, ‘Is this your staff salary fund?’ I said, ‘No, it is the entire fund.’ Then he asked me with a great surprise, ‘How do you manage to live?’ As a result, I suggested that we swap offices for a year and then look at what we have done. I said to him, ‘I will make you a Singapore for 2.5 million dollars, but you should not make my place worse than it is now.’ Naturally, he refused.” (Laughs)
“Although I worked even in the Soviet era, I am fine with new things. Unfortunately, we are talking very much of democracy but we are doing nothing. Take, for example, the system of sessions, collegiums, and briefings: it has all gone out of date. These are Soviet methods. Besides, do not forget that a village council comprises people of different ages, levels of education, and walks of life. What can we talk about if the law on local government, passed in 1997, is still in force? Everything has changed under the sun, but we go on living according to the past. The village council staff remains the same as it was prescribed in 1997, but at that time we had property worth 60,000 hryvnias and what we have now is worth three million hryvnias — naturally, a different staff is needed to maintain it. But nobody is thinking of this.
“I once suggested that, to change anything, one must at least make an analysis of the situation. One must duly consider the opinion of village council heads. For the Constitution of Ukraine says that the territorial commune sets out the main directions of its budgetary policy. Instead, we have a situation, when the village council can decide nothing. We keep writing queries and making calculations to find out what our commune needs to live a normal life, but these queries remain unanswered. What we are planning is never taken into account, but we are controlled ‘to the hilt.’ For example, they want us to have a normally functioning hospital but do not react to my request to have it renovated. In a word, our self-government remains on paper — it is an exercise in survival, not in self-government.”
I will quote in this connection your own words: “I, the village head who has no rights, am just afraid to set any goal to our commune. Only enthusiasm keeps things going.”
“Yes, I am 100 percent responsible for trouble-free functioning of all facilities in the social sector. The new Budget Code, which comes into force on January 1, requires that the village hospital and first-aid stations be subordinated to the central district hospital. All these facilities have been on the village council’s balance sheet since 2001. Naturally, we have been fulfilling all our duties, but we have been doing nothing about the equipment or major repairs because we don’t have funds. Thank God, we have farmers, entrepreneurs, and leaseholders who are helping us solve at least the problem of meals in the hospital.
“As for the kindergarten, the Cabinet of Ministers first decided that 30 percent of children should attend day care facilities, then it raised the figure to 60 and now to 75 percent. This is good, but nobody is saying that one should first create conditions: form additional playgroups, renovate or build new day care facilities, etc.
“On the other hand, I must say — not for the sake of campaigning — that it is now easier to work because people with whom I have worked before have come to power. But this is not the main thing. The district council has become more professional, it reacts much faster to all the emerging problems which I mentioned previously. Simply business people have come over.”
Ms. Drab, it is not easy to work for 28 years in a row in the same office. What is the secret of your success?
“I can remember assuming the office of village council chairperson for the first time at 25. At the time, there were no asphalted roads in the village, and tall weeds grew near the houses — the boondocks pure and simple. I used to walk down the street and ask ‘My dear ones, please clear the weeds and clean up the yard.’ And they would say to me, ‘You first build a road and then rule over it.’ (Laughs)
“But now I don’t have to order people around. We maintain an ideal order from the center to the last building. From this angle, our village is beautiful. I am also trying to maintain order in the other four villages. I always say to them, ‘To live in poverty does not mean to live in dirt.’ We still have a functioning kindergarten (70 children today), a school (150 children), a local hospital that caters for 15 villages, four first-aid stations, and a club. In 2003 the village of Radhospne even won a regional competition among the villages of our category. We were awarded a Tavria car for this.
“When an election campaign begins, I almost never advertise myself. My deeds do this for me. This is the secret of success. Besides, as I was elected eight times as village council chair, this means I might deserve it. There were different situations, naturally. Sometimes there were no serious rivals at all in the elections, but sometimes there were very serious ones like, for example, a former collective farm manager who had done very much for our economy. Every day I think over what I can do for the village and how one can survive without money. I want people not to suffer from all the problems that are discussed and solved in the village council and to have water, medicines, a regular bus service, etc. To this end, you should always be on the spot and go to the people instead of waiting for them to come to you. Whenever I go to a village, I take a specialist with me in order to quickly solve a problem on the spot. This is my principle at work. I do not see myself in the office room, I only see myself among the people.”
