Mykolaiv schools' laptops purchase goes to company with 200 million in tender turnover

A tender for almost 17 million for the purchase of laptops for Mykolaiv's educational institutions went to a company that has earned more than two hundred million in government tenders over the past two years. The winner was not the lowest bidder.

This is evidenced by data from the Prozorro electronic public procurement system.

On November 14, Mykolaiv held a tender for the purchase of laptops for the city's educational institutions.

Under the terms of the tender, the contractor is to provide 65 educational institutions in Mykolaiv with laptops, including: 26 kindergartens, 36 schools, the House of Creativity for Children and Youth, the Station of Young Technicians and Mykolaiv Municipal Academic College. The laptops must be equipped with 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of storage, a 15.6-inch screen, a licensed Windows 11 Professional operating system, and a mouse.

The supplier must deliver all equipment by December 13, 2024.

Three companies took part in the bidding process, but the contract was awarded to a company that offered a lower price. The procuring entity also received a complaint about specific requirements in this procurement that violate the principle of non-discrimination, narrow the range of participants and violate the principle of efficient use of public funds.

Screenshot: Prozorro

The tender was won by JIBA IT Solutions LLC with a bid of UAH 16 million 963 thousand 800.

At the same time, the offer of another bidder, which would have saved more than two million for the city budget, was rejected. The winner is currently awaiting a decision.

Screenshot: Prozorro

According to the online analytical system YouControl, the company in question was registered two years and two months ago. The head of the company is Anastasia Komarnytska. Despite its "youth", the company has already managed to earn more than two hundred million hryvnias at public tenders.

In early November, a contract for the construction of a shelter was signed in Mykolaiv region without an open tender. The cost of the work is UAH 33.8 million from the budget, and the contractor is BC Interbud LLC. In 2021, one of the company's co-owners was accused of embezzling budget funds.

They also decided to reconstruct the Koblivskyi kindergarten, which has been under renovation for three years. More than UAH 56 million was allocated from the budget, which is UAH 10 million more than last year. In 2021, it was planned to allocate UAH 23 million for the restoration of the kindergarten, but the work was interrupted due to the full-scale invasion.

Анна Бальчінос