The best practices

Ukrainian version

Experience of elaborating the strategy for the native production development on the Obolon district example

The Historic Background

The Obolon district of Kyiv is a kind of a “city within a city”. 320 000 people live here on the territory of 77 square kilometers, which is 12,1% of the Kyiv total population and 12,8% of the capital’s territory.

By its features Obolon (formerly Minsk) district can be compared to such oblast (region) centers of Ukraine as Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Cherkasy, etc.

The district numbers above 60 industrial and more than 3 000 small and middle enterprises.

Within 1993-1996 (in the district) one could observe a decrease according to the main social-and-economic development indicators.

Since 1997 the district government has been searching for the innovative ideas that would provide a steady social-and-economic development in the district. The goal is to create a favourable social-and-economic environment for the enterprises and organizations, the district dwellers and to provide the effective economic development.

Innovations

Taking the local self-government legal possibilities as the bases, the district authorities started to elaborate and to implement the “Strategy for supporting the native manufacturing and the small and middle business support and development” program.

To realize the Program the team of professionals was organized; it was comprised of the District council deputies, the best district enterprise representatives as well as district state administration ones.

• To work in the way that the market transformations become steady and unreversible;
• To prove that the skills combined with the will and the legal possibilities of the local self-government can not only improve the economic state but also help to reach the qualitatively new level.

Aiming at these the following events are being implemented:

1. The Board of Directors has been organized at the District State Administration Head, which is a steady consultative-deliberative body. Enterpreneurs are joined to discussions when making the administrative decisions.
2. At the monthly meeting-seminars the district enterprise directors jointly resolve the problems of the inner cooperation, study the progressive experience of some energy-saving enterprises, as well as the issues on job organization, investments drawing, new working places creation, etc. The best practices are gradually implemented.
3. The only in Kyiv - “Obolon – ’97, ’98, ’99, 2000” yearly district exhibition-fairs are held. Big, as well as small and middle enterprises participate in this fair.
4. The problem of selecting and exchanging the enterprise leaders and owners is already resolved. The main manufacturing directions and the working places are preserved, the regenerated enterprises are being reconstructed and equipped to produce the competitive output.
5. The district scientific institutions have been joined to the process as well. The market conditions made the big scientific establishments reorient, and fostered creating and developing small scientific structures. Within the last year the scope of the scientific-and-technical work done is 2,3 times bigger (than within the previous one) and makes 25,5 million hryvnas.
6. Providing the district producers with the local mass media informational support.

The Results

The strategy for supporting and developing the native producer, as well as small and middle business proved to be successful; it provided steady and gradual development of the budget system financial bases, and the district economy strengthening.

Very impressive results have been achieved in the sphere of industrial manufacturing, enterprising and construction. Each year the number of small and middle enterprises is increasing in 20%.

By the beginning of 2001 about 24 000 enterprising activity subjects have been registered in the district. The small and middle business enterprises provide over 40% of all the incomes to the budget. Almost half of the population occupied in the economic complex work here.

The scope of the goods production in the district is constantly increasing. If in 1996 they have produced goods for 322,1 million hryvnas, in 2000 – for about 1 billion hryvnas, and the consumer goods production scope was about 800 000 hryvnas; these correspondingly makes 14,9% and 18,6% of the Kyiv manufactured production.

The housing construction was actually regenerated after the crises in the 90-s. Without any state support but thanks to population’s investments, within 1997-2000 the district entered the housing construction level it used to be in 1975-1990.

The bigger part of the social-and-cultural objects are built to the district state administration’s order. Without budget costs they have managed to join about 240 million hryvnas and to build about 300 000 square meters of dwellings. Due to fulfilling and overfulfilling the budget incomes, the educational, medical and cultural establishments are maintained.

Each year the industrial complex is replenished with at least 5 enterprises thanks to joint smes development, which offer new working places, implement new technologies.

Taking into account the considerable increase of output, the number of employees (occupied in the industry) is constantly increasing. Thus, only within the lust year, their number has increased in above 1000 people. One should mention the average monthly salary raise and coverage of the owing as well.

They also planned to organize the center supporting the small and middle business development in Obolon by the end of 2001.

Contact information:

Kyiv-205
16, Tymoshenka Street,
the Obolon district council
Tovkach Mykola Volodymyrovych,
The Head of the Council
Phone # (044) 418 70 77