The auditors' demands to terminate the contract for the reconstruction were ignored

In the department of architecture of the Mykolaiv RMA, after the inspection by the State Audit Service, which found gross violations in the tenders for the reconstruction of the water main in Mykolaiv, they did not terminate the contracts with the contractors.

This was announced by the head of the Southern Office of the State Audit Service in the region, Denys Yakovliev, during a briefing on January 16, NikVesti writes.

As you know, in December 2023, the State Audit Service found violations in the actions of officials of the Mykolaiv RMA in all tenders for the reconstruction of the water main in Mykolaiv. The auditors believe that the offers of the tender winners for 800 million hryvnias should have been rejected.

However, at the end of December 2023, the head of Mykolayiv RMA Vitalii Kim reported that the contractors had already started the reconstruction of networks in five sections of the water pipeline.

Denys Yakovliev noted that their inspection revealed various violations in the conduct of tenders, in particular in technical tasks and procedural aspects.

«We recorded various violations regarding the conduct of tenders, in some tenders there are significant violations in the technical tasks, there are procedural violations. For each tender, we provided a conclusion and commitments, according to the law, our powers end there,» said Denys Yakovliev.

He also added that the State Audit Service informed law enforcement agencies and applicants about the detected violations, but the customers did not file lawsuits to challenge the service's decisions.

At the same time, Denys Yakovliev pointed out that their institution does not have the authority to sue customers.

«So far, the contractors have not responded to the audit service's demands, because lawsuits have not been filed in court,» he said.

As you know, the publication «Nashi Hroshi» analyzed the purchases of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration for the reconstruction of the water supply in Mykolaiv with a total cost of 836 million hryvnias, and stated that the prices were inflated by 2-3 times. Reacting to this publication, the head of Mykolayiv RMA Vitalii Kim said that he would account for every penny spent and urged «do not believe bad news». Commenting on this investigation, the Department of Urban Planning, Architecture, Capital Construction and Support of Development Projects of OVA stated that the prices indicated in the tender fully correspond to reality.

Valentyn Haidarzhi also commented on the use of the anti-dumping mechanism in procurement for the reconstruction of the water pipeline. Mykolaiv businessman, head of ViK Technologies Oleksandr Zhak focused on them before. He declared about corruption in the Mykolaiv region connected with these purchases. According to him, in the procurement, the customer set limits for participants who offer prices 5-8% lower than the expected cost.

However, three weeks ago, the head of the Mykolaiv region held a briefing, at which he thanked the journalists and confirmed the fact that the contractor had inflated the price. He noted that during the analysis of the cost, it was found that the contractor included inflation in the prices not only this year, but also the next, and therefore the amount of the tender will decrease.

The Department of Town Planning, Architecture, Capital Construction and Support of Development Projects of the Mykolayiv Oblast, commenting on the investigation by the publication «Nashi Hroshi» regarding the overpayment for the reconstruction of the water main, stated that the prices specified in the tender correspond to reality.