Local finance transparency in Ukraine

Abstract

Transparency in public and local finance is one of the most important factors in building a democratic society with high level of public confidence in the government. Democratic shifts in a country will only take place if citizens perceive the country’s government and local self-government as fully transparent and controlled by them. Citizens will be able to support and cooperate with the government if it informs them of all public activities: decision-making, financial reporting, planning, local budget expenditures, etc. Transparency in the formation and use of local financial resources is the most sensitive issue.Local finance transparency has been studied from the perspective of 21 online portals of local authorities from four Ukrainian regions, geographically remote in the context of two main blocks, namely, the state of public procurement and the budget process. The portals of Lviv, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Mykolaiv administrative centers and the city of Kyiv were identified in each region (oblast), and in each oblast, four cities with the district status, which are the largest by population, were identified. Significant discrepancies in local finance transparency have been identified, as portals of regional centers and a small number of districts have high levels of transparency. The vast majority have low transparency in local finances. In addition, the level of community involvement in the regional development problems through social networks was analyzed. The population of small cities was found to be more active. Most local governments should pay attention to the low level of portals in terms of making them user-friendly.