Life Gets Brighter In Alchevsk
Poor street lighting is a common problem in many Ukrainian cities, including Alchevsk. It is especially felt in fall and winter, when daylight hours are limited. Elderly people tend not to go out on the street in the dark, unless it is urgent. Parents leave work earlier to pick up children who stay late at school or take additional classes.
“I live on the main street, but even here, in the heart of the city, there were almost no working street lamps. If I need to go to buy something in a store in the evening, I would rather wait until the next day,” says Lidiya Pikalova, an Alchevsk resident. Lidiya is convinced that a dark street is not a safe place.
Improving street lighting has been a top priority for Alchevsk citizens. Undertaking improvements would require much more than merely replacing bulbs; it also had to include repairing street lamps and power cables. Despite the considerable scale of the task, several proactive community members took the initiative.
By attending the public budget hearings organized by the city government and USAID’s Municipal Budget Reform Project (MBR), the citizens had the opportunity to provide a list of streets and buildings that lacked lighting. Although budget programs were already in place, the citizens were able to influence implementation.
The USAID’s Municipal Budget Reform (MBR) Project began cooperating with the City of Alchevsk in 2006 to implement Performance Program Budgeting (PPB), an advanced technique of budget formulation, management and execution. Using PPB, the city government was able to improve the cost-effectiveness of the local budget by funding programs and services as determined by local residents instead of merely divvying the budget pot among local institutions. The need and demands of the local residents are heard during public hearings, a practice the city implemented with MBR support.
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Renovated street lamps on Gagarina Street, where two schools and a kindergarten are located.
Photo Credit: Serhiy Zuyev |
Through the resulting open dialogue between the city government and the community, street lamps were fixed near schools, kindergartens, the maternity house—seven streets in all. Now, Alchevsk is lit by 5,449 energy-efficient sodium lamps, each saving $1.05 per hour compared to old-style lamps, resulting in $13,000 in annual savings, a significant amount for a city with a population of 100,000.
The development and implementation of the street lighting program has been the result of cooperation between the city of Alchevsk, the MBR Project and the Industrial Union of Donbass. Using Program Performance Budgeting, the city was also able to resolve other issues. It allocated UAH 85,822 to give economically vulnerable citizens a free subscription to a local newspaper Ogni, which covers the life and needs of the local community and how issues of economic development and social security are managed. In addition, due to PPB implementation, the city authorities realized the dreams of teachers and students at School #15 by allocating UAH 105,750 to open tennis and basketball classes.
The new PPB approach to budgeting has made increased government-community cooperation possible. ”I believe that the citizens have experienced real interaction with the government, as well as felt part of the decision-making process,” says Pikalova. ”With new street lighting, now I can visit my friends for a cup of coffee even in the evenings,” she adds with a smile.
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