Residents of the most remote settlements of the community of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast can now receive quality services in the most convenient conditions

Victoria Kostytska, 40, works as an administrator at the Sievierodonetsk Administrative Services Centre (ASC). Every Tuesday, she travels with the centre's team to provide public services to the residents of nearby villages, including her native village of Borivske, located 12 kilometres away from the regional centre.

"For five years I’ve been working as the head of the real estate registration and real estate encumbrance sector of the administrative services department,” says Victoria. ”As soon as I learned about the initiative to provide mobile services, I was very happy to be in the team of employees who would be among the first in the oblast to go on such trips.”

Previously, property documents, as well as other administrative and social services, could be obtained by residents only at the stationary ASC in Sievierodonetsk. At the end of October 2020, UNDP under the UN Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme and with the support of the Government of Canada, transferred to the community a modern and convenient mobile administrative service centre, which can provide such services near to clients’ homes.

Victoria says a large number of people are interested in visiting the centre – in four months of making mobile ASC trips, they have provided services to more than 100 local residents.

"There are usually very few state registrars available, so residents rush to ask a variety of questions – for instance about the registration of property rights, their own business, or real estate,” Victoria says. “Besides, there are often requests to receive the services of the State GeoCadastre and the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate, apply for a subsidy, and receive assistance from the state, etc.”

The arrival of the mobile ASC was a really big event for the whole village. About 6,000 residents, half of whom are of retirement age, rarely have the time or money to spend on a trip to the regional centre, while the number of documents for registration is only growing every year.

Kateryna Ahafonova, 71, a resident of Borivske, is glad that for the first time she was able to obtain the services she needed right in her native village: “Having a mobile ASC near the home is really great,” she says. “I’m sure the people of Borivske felt the local authorities are taking care of them and giving them attention. I’m very grateful that such polite, professional and attentive specialists were able to quickly resolve my issues and even give me advice on how to obtain certificates in the future."

Victoria says many of her fellow villagers also take care of relatives who require special care, meaning they can't leave them to travel to the city to obtain public services.

"I’m glad that more and more residents of Borivske are learning about the possibility of getting services on the spot,” Victoria says. “The village head often calls all deputies on her own so that more people can learn about the mobile centre,” Victoria smiles. "And when visitors see one of their neighbours among the administrators, they understand that they can trust them, and will definitely receive help and support here properly."

Today, the mobile ASC runs through the villages of Borivske and Syrotyne, and in the future it will cover all remote settlements that belong of the Sievierodonetsk community.

Background:

The United Nations Recovery and Peacebuilding Programme (UN RPP) is being implemented by four United Nations agencies: the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Twelve international partners support the Programme: the European Union (EU), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, and the governments of Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.