“Partnership for the Future of Alchevsk” Conference Held in Alchevsk

Volodymyr Choob, Mayor of Alchevsk (left), Vasyl Arbuzov, partnership coordinator from IUD (center) and Peter Argo, Acting Mission Director. Alchevsk - June 25, 2008. USAID and its partners supporting community development in the eastern city of Alchevsk held a conference on June 25 to review progress to date in the effort.  The “Partnership for the Future of Alchevsk” initiative combines public and private resources to help improve Alchevsk city services and ultimately the life of local residents. The initiative to provide community development support to the city came after the city’s water and heating system suffered several catastrophic failures over the previous few years.  Today, the success of the Alchevsk effort depends on three key elements: a commitment to corporate social responsibility and a desire to help the city of Alchevsk by the Industrial Union of Donbass through its Alchevsk Development Fund; a commitment by the Alchevsk municipal leadership and Mayor Choob to focus its work on economic and community development; and a commitment by USAID to provide programs and technical expertise to support community and economic development. The project is a comprehensive and integrated effort to stimulate community development and will serve as a model for other Ukrainian cities.  USAID has brought a number of its current implementers to the project to address the challenges and resolve the problems facing the city of Alchevsk, all of whom reported on their work at the conference.   The Alchevsk initiative consists of five separate components: developing an economic development strategy to spur local and foreign investment; restructuring the municipal budgeting process away from line item budgeting and towards performance program budgeting; organizing and empowering civil society and non-governmental organizations in Alchevsk to make the needs and demands of Alchevsk’s citizens known, and to monitor how city government is working; reforming and modernizing Alchevsk’s heating and water treatment systems; and, community exchanges with U.S.  towns to increase local knowledge of best international practices.

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