Sept. 12, 2025, 6:32 p.m.
(PHOTOS: Odesa City Hall)
Odesa City Council deputy Volodymyr Kornienko has accused the head of the Service Center utility company, Zurab Shoniya, of disregarding the decision of the city council session to purchase inclusive toilets for UAH 5.7 million each.
During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Planning, Budget and Finance on September 12, the deputy said that despite the fact that the deputies agreed to allocate money for the installation of one such restroom, the results of the tender were not canceled and no changes were made to the agreement.
"I have already said that the contractor and the supplier may have to pay for these toilets. We agreed to allocate funds for one, but the procurement terms stipulate the supply of four. It is not known whether the deputies will vote for the other toilets or not," the deputy said.
Zurab Shoniya, in turn, explained that they had paid for only one toilet, and the rest were put on hold. And according to the program, there should be four toilets, so four were included in the procurement. The chairman of the commission, Oleksiy Potapsky, also noted that the funds were allocated for one toilet and it is unclear how the Service Center will pay for the other three, especially since there are no funds in the budget for them.
Instead, MP Oleh Zvyagin noted that it might make sense to revise the requirements for these toilets and install non-automatic ones instead of automatic ones, which will be supervised by people.
"Perhaps the design can be changed and we can buy four or more toilets for the same money," said the deputy.
The deputies also mentioned the automatic toilet that was installed near the Opera House, which is not working.
On August 27, the Odesa City Council almost failed the "Barrier-Free Odesa" program due to a scandal over the cost of inclusive toilets, which cost 5.7 million hryvnias each. After a second vote, the decision was passed.
Кирило Бойко