Odesa Regional Council Approves Controversial Report After Heated Debate

A scandal erupted in the Odesa Regional Council during the consideration of the draft decision "Report on the Activities of the Head of the Odesa Regional Council for 2024".

This was discussed during a meeting of the regional council.

At first, deputy Yulia Chukhalo was sharply criticized, saying that "the document is not a report, but a farce."

According to her, the salary of the regional council staff amounted to 42 million hryvnias, of which 25 million were spent on bonuses and allowances. She also emphasized that the salaries of the staff increased by 10 million hryvnias over the year.

The chairman of the regional council, Hryhoriy Didenko, replied that salaries are calculated in accordance with the current legislation.

During the voting, the decision did not receive the required number of votes: 41 votes for the decision. However, after a second appeal by one of the deputies, the voting was resumed. This time, 42 MPs voted in favor, but the decision was still not adopted.

Subsequently, after moving to the "Miscellaneous" item, MP Oleksiy Kobylnikov proposed to return to voting on Hryhoriy Didenko's report.

The deputies supported the return to voting. At first, the report was approved as a basis, but the decision was not passed in general.

Then Hryhorii Didenko put the draft decision to a vote again, and this time, 43 votes were cast in favor. Thus, after intense discussions and several attempts to vote, the decision to approve the report of the head of the regional council was made.

Ірина Глухова