Kherson Regional State Administration spends budget money on flowers and souvenirs without bidding

The Department for the Implementation of Humanitarian Policy of the Kherson Regional State Administration purchased flowers, certificates, calendars, photo frames and gift bags. The total cost of these goods is UAH 39,895. The contractors were chosen without a tender, and therefore without competition.

Information about this was published on the Dozorro platform.

For example, the department ordered a basket of flowers from Mykolaiv entrepreneur Ruslan Yeremenko for UAH 2,480. Mykolaiv entrepreneur Olha Bandura will provide 105 calendars worth UAH 2,625. Lyudmyla Britsyna from Kherson will buy 253 photo frames for UAH 15,000 and 50 forms of honorary certificates for UAH 780. Denys Protsyshen, also from Mykolaiv, will supply 300 gift bags with a logo, worth UAH 18,900.

(Photo: Screenshot from Dozorro)

A total of 6 contracts were signed on October 15. These agreements were concluded without electronic bidding, and contractors received orders without competition.

Inappropriate procurement is quite common for budgetary institutions: they buy expensive watches, spend the budget on all kinds of certificates and letters of appreciation, or buy plants for millions that will grow for only a year. These acquisitions are especially surprising during a full-scale war.

TheCenter for Public Investigations investigated which tenders in Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions were announced and canceled precisely because they were inappropriate.

In Kherson, a tender for grass mowing services was canceled. At the end of March 2022 (!), the executive committee of the Dniprovskyi District Council announced a tender for these services for UAH 458 thousand. However, due to the impossibility of the procurement due to force majeure (Kherson was already under occupation), the tender was canceled.

In September 2023, the Regional Hockey Center utility company of the Kherson Regional Council failed to purchase hockey equipment worth UAH 1.7 million. The tender was canceled due to lack of funds.

Ірина Глухова