In Odesa, a breadwinner for district schoolchildren was chosen without an auction for 9 million

The Center for Financing and Economic Activities and Institutions of the Education System of Peresypskyi District of Odesa has held a tender to select a company that will supply meals for schoolchildren.

The relevant information is available in the Prozorro e-procurement system.

It is about meals for students in grades 1-4. The number of children to be fed is 4,405. This includes 3,536 children who will be fed breakfast, and 867 children who will eat lunch. Two more children need gluten-free and lactose-free meals. Number of days of meals: 35 days. The number of children and the number of days of meals are indicative and subject to change. In total, we are talking about 26 schools.

The procurement took place in the format of an open tender with special conditions, and the only participant was Fabryka Smaku Limited Liability Company.

According to the YouControl service, Fabryka Smaku LLC was registered in 2015. The owners are Igor Levinzon and Olga Bogolyubova.

Open bidding with special features means that almost all terms are shorter than in open bidding under the Law on Public Procurement. This means that this procurement is much faster than open tenders.

The period for submitting proposals is seven calendar days, and the period for challenging qualifications is five calendar days. Often, there is no auction during such tenders, so the participant has no competitors.

However, the year before last, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine temporarily changed the rules of bidding for the period of martial law in Ukraine and within 90 days from the date of its termination or cancellation. The government temporarily canceled electronic auctions. Since then, tenders announced in Prozorro can be held without an auction.

Earlier, the Center for Financing and Economic Activity and Educational Institutions of Khadzhybeyskyi District of Odesa conducted a procurement to select a company that will supply food for schoolchildren. The procurement was held in the format of an open tender with special conditions on October 25, and the only participant was the private enterprise Ration Group.

In September 2022, the Center for Public Investigations analyzed the composition of companies participating in tenders for the right to feed Odesa schoolchildren and identified the main players in this market in Odesa. The experts identified Fabrika Smaku LLC as one of the leaders.

Instead, Ratsiy Group PE was included in the second group of caterers, which received fewer tenders than Fabrika Smaku LLC and other leaders.

Кирило Бойко