25 years of activity of self-government

Abstract

The 25 years of activity of self-government in Poland occupy a special place in Polish history. It has been a period of dynamic political, social and economic changes and self-government units have been to a large extent creators of that change. Undoubtedly, the first years, which were also the most difficult ones, played a crucial role, and never again has it been possible to achieve the same level of enthusiasm and social involvement in the process. I was lucky to participate in the building of self-governing structures in Poland from the very beginning and at all levels.

There was huge responsibility placed on the shoulders of those who were appointed to the function of a local self-government officer. The credit of trust given to them was charged with enormous social expectations. The stake 25 years ago was not only the possibility of free elections; it was the fundamental changes in all aspect of life. Decentralisation and democtratisation of the Polish state would not have been possible without active engagement of self-government, which involved the entire society in the process of change, they taught responsibility and transparency.

The building of self-government in Poland was a huge logistic project, on a scale not previously encountered. Over 100 thousand state clerks transformed into independent officials, learning new skills and competences, also drawing on experiences of other countries. In result of the process
of passing state property to local governments, communes and municipalities (gmina) received several millions of plots of land and over acquired over 1,500 enterprises. The experiences gained in the legislative and organisational work of the first stage of the self-governance reform, enabled Poland to enter the second stage of the reform in 1989 and to commence work of the building of district (powiat) and regional (voivodship) self-government structures. That process was completed 8 years later. Self-governance at the regional level was being developed when Poland was about to receive pre-accession funds from the European Union, a lucky moment since it was self-government that was to play a vital role in their distribution. Regional self-government is also responsible for facilitating suitable and supporting conditions for regional development and competitiveness of regions.

Today, we are facing another challenge which is an optimal use of the EU funds allocated to Poland from the 2014-2020 budget. I have no doubts that we shall do it well.