The article highlights the role of the Polish local authorities in counteracting the COVID-19 pandemic as well as minimising its impact. As a local level decentralised public administration, self-government becomes responsible for meeting the local communities needs. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the activities of local authorities were focused mainly on supporting: 1. health system; 2. local entrepreneurs; 3. social assistance institutions; 4. the most vulnerable citizens (the elderly, the sick, the handicapped, isolated or quarantined individuals). The main problem faced by local authorities was the need to increase the aid expenditure and the reduction of their revenue sources (especially their own revenue) at the same time. Despite all difficulties, local authorities have an understandable role to play in combating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Professor Jerzy Regulski played a key role in the process of building the self-government
of the Third Polish Republic. He initiated his work on the self-government system as a part
of the “Experience and Future” seminar on the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. During the period of the Polish Peoples Republic, the implementation of the developed opinions and assumptions was not possible. However, they turned out to be extremely valuable during the period of political transformation. During the session of the Round Table, Regulski was assignet to preside the works of the opposition party as a part of the Association and Self-Government Sub-team. After the victorious for the solidarity camp elections on June 4, 1989, Regulski supervised the realisation of local government reform. The restitution of communal self-government in 1990 was followed by establishing a direct self-government body at district and voivodship level in 1999.
The obligation to develop a county (powiat) strategy for solving social problems results from the provisions of the Act of March 12, 2004 on social assistance. This article presents the role of this strategy in the process of reducing social problems: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, addictions, problems of the elderly and disabled, orphans, etc. It indicates the role of social participation in the process of developing the strategy and implementing its objectives. The cooperation of local authorities, social assistance units, NGOs and many other institutions remains a basic condition for the effective implementation of the strategy.
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