District administrations of Mykolaiv: Why are they needed and how do managers work?

Heads of Mykolaiv districts and Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, NikVesti collage

There are four large districts in Mykolaiv: Zavodskyi, Tsentralnyi, Inhulskyi and Korabelnyi. A separate administration is responsible for the basic needs of each of these districts. For example, it can be pothole repair of roads or street cleaning.

Over the past four years, district administrations have spent more than 1 billion hryvnias on the purchase of services or goods through the ProZorro public procurement system. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, their funding has increased. During these years, the administration of the Tsentralnyi district spent the most money on tenders (348.6 million hryvnias), the Inhulskyi district (331.5 million hryvnias), the Zavodskyi district (269.2 million hryvnias) and the Korabelnyi district (222.7 million hryvnias).

Who today heads the districts of Mykolaiv, what the district administrations of the city do and what they spend their money on — read in the NikVesti material.

Zavodskyi district and abandoned parks

Viktor Dmytruk is the head of the administration of Zavodskyi district. He has held this position for almost eight years — since February 2017, and before that he was the deputy head of the administration of the Zavodskyi District for two years. That is, in general, he has been dealing with the problems of the Zavodskyi District for 10 years.

Viktor Dmytruk, head of the administration of the Zavodskyi District, photo: Mykolaiv City Council

During 2023, according to the declaration of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, Viktor Dmytruk received 748.9 thousand hryvnias in salary. This is about 62.4 thousand hryvnias per month. For example, the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, earned a smaller amount during the same period — 678.1 thousand hryvnias, which is an average of 56.5 thousand hryvnias per month.

In the first year of the full-scale war, the amount of tenders announced by the administration of the Zavodskyi District increased by a third compared to the pre-war period: from 47 million hryvnias in 2021 to 64.4 million hryvnias in 2022, according to data from the public procurement analysis platform BI Prozorro. In 2023, the amount of announced tenders increased more than twice and amounted to 133.9 million hryvnias, and as of the beginning of September 2024 — 23.7 million hryvnias.

Infographic created by NikVesti based on the data of the public procurement analysis platform «BI Prozorro»

The administration of the Zavodskyi district mainly spends these funds on the following works: ongoing road repairs, cleaning of streets and spontaneous landfills, removal of large-sized garbage, repair of solid waste collection sites. These are the total base costs for each district of the city. And among other things , it also includes the repair of the administrative building, the shore fortification of the Velyka Korenykha microdistrict, and the repair of the skate park near the Nadiia sports complex.

Current road repairs and street cleaning of the Zavodskyi district are annual services ordered by the administration from contractors. Roads between high-rise buildings or in the private sector are mainly repaired. For example, this year the administration ordered the repair of the road near the houses on Lazurna Street for 2.9 million hryvnias, which the contractor must complete by the end of 2024. The administration will spend another 2.4 million hryvnias on the repair of the road along Klubna Street in the Velyka Korenykha microdistrict.

Repaired road in Korabelnyi district of Mykolaiv, archival photo of NikVesti

The streets of the Zavodskyi district are cleaned in several ways: mechanized vacuum cleaning, mechanized wet cleaning, and manual cleaning. For this, the administration orders separate tenders. During 2024, manual cleaning of the district costs 4.8 million hryvnias, mechanized vacuum cleaning — 3.9 million hryvnias, and mechanized wet cleaning from June to December — 1.1 million hryvnias. And the liquidation of spontaneous garbage dumps in the district costs the city budget 4.4 million hryvnias per year.

However, there are parks in the district that are not properly maintained today. One of them is the Mother square near the Nadiia sports school, which was opened in October 2020. Then, the opening of the park was personally attended by the mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, and the head of the administration of the Mykolaiv Factory District, Viktor Dmytruk.

«I really hope that the townspeople will not break it, but will protect it. Little by little, each abandoned green area will look like this square — well-kept and beautiful,» Oleksandr Sienkevych said at the time.

Opening of Mother`s Square in October 2020, archival photo of NikVesti

Opening of Mother's Square in October 2020, archival photo of NikVesti

Opening of Mother's Square in October 2020, archival photo of NikVesti

However, already within a year, the people of Mykolaiv showed the neglected state of the square. Oleksii Shalunov published the relevant post in the Facebook group «Contact Center at the Mykolaiv City Council». he showed that on several benches the wooden boards were coming off, and on all the light boxes the plastic panels were coming off. The man assumed that the problem was weak fasteners.

As of the beginning of September, the square is in a neglected state: the wooden boards for seating need to be renewed, the fountains are currently not working, and their bowls are dirty.

State of Mother's Square as of the beginning of September 2024, photo NikVesti

State of Mother's Square as of the beginning of September 2024, photo NikVesti

State of Mother's Square as of the beginning of September 2024, photo NikVesti

The green area near the MY art object, located between the Nadiia sports complex and the Tourist hotel, is also in a neglected state. This zone was opened in September 2019 for Mykolaiv City Day.

A green area with a place to rest near the «MY» art object after its opening in 2019

Green zone with a place for rest near the «MY» art object in September 2024, photo NikVesti

For a long time, the Department of Housing and Communal Services of the City Council was responsible for the maintenance of the district's green areas, but now the municipal enterprise Mykolaiv Parks should take care of them. However, this does not relieve the responsibility of the administration of the Factory district, which should monitor the proper maintenance of green areas on the territory under its responsibility.

One of the important problems of the Zavodskyi district is the coastal fortification of individual microdistricts. Currently, the administration of the Zavodskyi District is planning to shore up the Velyka Korenykha microdistrict. For this purpose, a tender for relevant works for 1.6 million hryvnias has already been announced.

«There are several such objects in Velyka Korenykha that are being destroyed due to erosion. We will take the first measures to ensure a more stable state of the coastline in the area between the first and second branch of the Velyka Korenykha. There is a road there, it is asphalted, but as a result of this erosion, the road has already been destroyed, and it connects two micro-districts of Velyka Korenykha,» said the head of the administration of the Zavodskyi District Viktor Dmytruk.

The collapse of the Namyv coastline in December 2023, archival photo NikVesti

At the same time, the coastline of the Namyv microdistrict continues to collapse. Due to erosion, the width of the beach zone is decreasing, he said.

«I believe that it is necessary to bring it to a logical conclusion and build breakwaters. Now there is really an active search for donors who can be involved in this. I believe that this issue is now acute for the city's residents,» said Viktor Dmytruk.

Inhulskyi district and the construction of a stop

The head of the administration of the Inhulskyi district is Hanna Remennikova, who has held this position since March 2021. She is also a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and the head of the «Proposition» faction in the city council. In addition to her political career, Hanna Remennikova is engaged in entrepreneurship in the hotel and restaurant business — she is the owner of the Daily and Daily Sport restaurants in Mykolaiv.

Anna Remennikova, head of the administration of the Inhul district, archival photo of  NikVesti

According to the declaration of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption, the salary of Anna Remennikova in her position in the Administration of the Inhulskyi district amounted to 673.7 thousand hryvnias, which is an average of 56.1 thousand hryvnias per month. This is less than other heads of districts. She received another 1.9 million hryvnias from the sale of movable property.

In the first year of the full-scale war, the amount of tenders announced by the administration of the Ingul district increased almost twice compared to the pre-war period: from 36.9 million hryvnias in 2021 to 66 million hryvnias in 2022, according to the data of the public procurement analysis platform «BI Prozorro». In 2023, the amount of announced tenders increased more than twice and amounted to 157.7 million hryvnias, and as of the beginning of September 2024 — 35.4 million hryvnias.

The administration of the Inhulskyi district mainly spends these funds on the repair of roads near high-rise buildings or in the private sector. Among the latter , there is the repair of the road along Elektronna Street for 2.4 million hryvnias, along Oleh Bondarenko Street for 2.4 million hryvnias, as well as the pothole repair of the road along Shkilna Street for 2 million hryvnias.

However, there are sections of roads in the Inhulskyi district that have been in need of repair for years. For example, since 2018, Maksym Pavlovskyi, a resident of Mykolaiv, has been asking the representatives of the city authorities to repair a small section of the sidewalk in the PTZ neighborhood, and has been receiving rejections for all five years. NikVesti contacted the man and found out that as of the beginning of September 2024, there was no response to his appeal.

Sidewalk along Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue, 39, photo NikVesti

Among other things , the administration of the Inhulskyi district spends money on liquidation of spontaneous landfills, cleaning of the district's streets, as well as the repair of sports grounds and public transport stops.

For example, during the year, the administration will spend 9.5 million hryvnias on liquidation of spontaneous landfills. This includes, in particular, cleaning the streets of the district from garbage by hand and with the help of equipment, as well as cleaning fallen leaves.

Another 3.6 million hryvnias will be spent by the administration of the Inhulskyi district on the capital repair of the «Space of the Free» sports ground at 13-A Kobera lane. These works have been going on for almost a year — since December 2023. Repair of the site in general involves landscaping the territory, installation of small architectural forms and outdoor lighting, arrangement of coverings.

Sports ground «Space of the Free», September 2024, photo NikVesti

Sports ground «Space of the Free», September 2024, photo NikVesti

Sports ground «Space of the Free», September 2024, photo NikVesti

Sports ground «Space of the Free», September 2024, photo NikVesti

Sports ground «Space of the Free», September 2024, photo NikVesti

The renovation of the sports ground should be completed in December 2024. as of the beginning of September, the contractor has completed 80% of the work. «There are still locks to replace, an anti-vandal system of doors and lighting,» added Hanna Remennikova.

At the same time, by the end of this year, a new public transport stop should be installed along Troitskyi Street, between Troitskyi Lane and Volonterska Street. The work was estimated at 4 million hryvnias.

A bus stop in Matviivka was arranged for 200 thousand hryvnias, the photo of NikVesti is taken for illustration

As Hanna Remennikova, the head of the Administration of the Inhulskyi District, reported in a comment to NikVesti, the bus stop will be repaired at the request of local residents. There are also plans to build a parking area for public transport, landscape the area and build a public toilet.

«This is capital construction. We will rebuild a new stop at the request of residents. There is a larger set of works than one stop. There will be a waste area for routes of green buses №59 and №79. A public toilet and landscaping of the territory are also planned,» Hanna Remennikova reported.

Central district and road repair for private cottages

Oleksandr Bereza is the head of the administration of the Tsentralnyi district. He has held this position for more than seven years — since April 2017. As the head of the administration in 2023, he earned 819,312 hryvnias. This is about 68.2 thousand hryvnias per month. He also received 88,329 hryvnias in insurance payments. Another 4.5 thousand hryvnias were paid to him by the trade union of the administration.

Oleksandr Bereza, head of the administration of the Central district, archival photo of NikVesti

In the first year of the full-scale war, the amount of tenders announced by the administration of the Inhulskyi district amounted to 72.4 million hryvnias, according to the data of the public procurement analysis platform «BI Prozorro». This is 6.5 million hryvnias more than in the pre-war year 2021. In 2023, the amount of announced tenders increased more than twice and amounted to 150.7 million hryvnias, and as of the beginning of September 2024 — 59.6 million hryvnias.

In most cases, the administration of the Tsentralnyi District spends these funds on the ongoing repair of roads, the cost of which is mostly 1-3 million hryvnias. Among other things , the administration spends money on cleaning the streets of the district from garbage and fallen leaves, liquidating natural garbage dumps, arranging public transport stops, as well as on maintaining Ukrainian flags in the district.

Employees of the utility company «Mykolaiv Parks» at work, photo NikVesti

For example, the administration of the Central district spent 1.7 million hryvnias on the construction of a new road in the coastal private sector in the Solyani microdistrict. We are talking about two sections of the road along Berehova Street. The first one — from 38 Novoodeska street to 11/4A Berehova, the cost of which was 994.5 thousand hryvnias. The second — from 11/4A Berehova to 11/4 Berehova for 728.5 thousand hryvnias. NikVesti visited the site and found out that the road repaired by the district administration is near three private cottages on the banks of the South Bug River.

The repaired road in the coastal private sector in the Solyani microdistrict, September 2024, photo NikVesti

The repaired road in the coastal private sector in the Solyani microdistrict, September 2024, photo NikVesti

The repaired road in the coastal private sector in the Solyani microdistrict, September 2024, photo NikVesti

The head of the district administration, Oleksandr Bereza, explained in a comment to the newspaper that the residents of the buildings turned to the administration with a request to repair the road along Berehova street. Before that, they independently laid a road along the street, but it was destroyed by the heavy equipment that was carrying out shore strengthening works, he explained.

«Residents appealed even before the start of a full-scale invasion. The fact is that at one time and with their own efforts they made a concrete road there. And then there was a problem with the fact that landslides started there from the old cemetery. This is an ancient story. There, a whole ecological disaster was looming, because there the old cemetery and houses began to slide into the river. The city implemented a project to strengthen this slope, there was a whole complex of works. And the trucks that performed these works destroyed the covering that people made with their own hands. It could not withstand this technique. Then the delegation of residents raised the issue of justice,» said Oleksandr Bereza.

In 2015, 2.7 million hryvnias were allocated from the city budget for the construction of shore fortification structures along the South Bug River in the area of the old cemetery on Berehova Street, the «Center for Journalistic Investigations» wrote with reference to the «Bulner of State Procurements».

The customer of your work was the Department of Housing and Communal Services, which concluded a contract with the Mykolaivmiskbud company. The contractor was supposed to perform a number of works on the construction of coastal fortification structures during 2015.

Coastal fortifications, September 2024, photo NikVesti

At the same time, there are roads in the private sector of the Central District that have been in need of repair for years. For example, in March 2024, the residents of the Varvarivka micro-district requested major repairs to their road along Berezanskyi Lane.

The road is in an unusable condition: during the rain, the surface turns into a swamp, and in the summer residents suffer from a large amount of dust, said local resident Olena Samokhval.

«I have been a resident of the Varvarivka neighborhood since 1998. I want to say that during this period no repair or organizational work was carried out on our street. In addition, during this period, a tractor with a raider drove by several times and the road was leveled. It didn't get better from that, only until the first rain, and after that it got even worse. My children, one might say, grew up in the mud, and when it's summer , in the dust. They always went to school with a change of shoes, because it was impossible to get to Ochakivska Street: it was a bit of water, a swamp. We belong to the Central district of the city of Mykolaiv and I would like it to be good for us. Therefore, a big request from all residents. Everyone is tired,» said the woman.

Korabelnyi district and technical inspection of buildings after shelling

Oleksandr Tsukanov is the head of the administration of Korabelnyi district. He has held this position for ten years — since April 2014. In 2023, he earned 713.3 thousand hryvnias in his position, which is approximately 59.4 thousand hryvnias per month. Oleksandr Tsukanov also received 125,000 hryvnias in insurance payments and 1.1 million hryvnias in compensation for damaged movable property from a private person.

Oleksandr Tsukanov, head of the administration of the Ship district, screenshot from the air of the TV channel MART

In the first year of the full-scale war, the amount of tenders announced by the administration of the Ship District amounted to 35.1 million hryvnias, which is 4.8 million hryvnias less than in the pre-war year 2021, according to the data of the public procurement analysis platform «BI Prozorro». In 2023, the amount of announced tenders increased more than three times and amounted to 119.8 million hryvnias, and as of the beginning of September 2024 - 27.9 million hryvnias.

The administration of the Korabelnyi district mainly spends these funds on major and current road repairs, liquidation of spontaneous garbage dumps, and road cleaning. For example, the district administration ordered the repair of seven blocks of the road along Rybna Street. 13.3 million hryvnias were spent on these works from the city budget. At the same time , the district administration requires the contractor to provide a 10-year guarantee for the completed works, as well as: 5 years for the road surface, 8 years for the road surface, and 7 years for road signs.

At the same time, the administration of the Korabelnyi district ordered technical inspection services for 25 buildings damaged as a result of military operations. 240 thousand hryvnias were spent on these works from the budget. But in general, 2 million 140 thousand hryvnias are needed for the technical inspection of 234 houses in the Korabelnyi district that suffered from the war.

A residential building at 8A Samoilovycha Street in the Korabelny district of Mykolaiv after shelling, October 23, 2022, photo NikVestti

A technical inspection is necessary in some cases when filing an application for compensation for damaged or destroyed property. Its cost is 10-15 thousand hryvnias. But as Ihor Nabatov, Deputy Director of the Department of Housing and Communal Services of the City Council explained earlier, a technical inspection is not always required for submitting an application. In some cases, a commission examination conducted by the department's specialists is sufficient. However, if the damage is severe and significant, a technical inspection is usually required.

How does the mayor of Mykolaiv evaluate the work of district administrations?

The issue of the future fate of Mykolaiv district administrations was raised by Oleksandr Sienkovych, the mayor, back in January 2021. Then he spoke about their possible liquidation.

«There is a concept of duplicating functions, and there is expanding functions. For example, our Housing and Communal Department and the administration (district, —note) build roads, take care of green spaces, cut down trees, and make lighting. It was decided that the Department of Housing and Urban Development works with main streets, large parks, squares, district administrations deal with small intra-quarter zones, driveways, intra-quarter lighting and the private sector. We see that this work is not always done well and correctly, we see that it is necessary to establish additional control,» Oleksandr Sienkevych said then.

Subsequently, Oleksandr Sienkevych announced the change of heads of three city district administrations. Then, from the beginning of January 2022, the heads of the Central, Zavodskyi and Korabelnyi districts of the city were to change places in their positions.

«One more surprise — from the first of January, I want to propose to rotate the heads of administrations. I propose to the head of the Bereza Tsentralnyi district to manage the Factory district, to the head of the Zavodskyi district I propose to manage the Korabelnyi district, to the head of the Korabelnyi district — the Tsentralnyi district,» the mayor announced.

Mykolaiv City Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, photo NikVesti

However, as of September 2024, there has been no change in the heads of district administrations. Currently, Mykolaiv district administrations are performing the work assigned to them, Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych said in a comment to NikVesti. However, he believes, the effectiveness of their work should be evaluated by the residents of Mykolaiv.

«At the moment, the situation with the district administrations of our city is quite stable. In general, district administrations perform their function in Mykolaiv. They remain closest to the residents and can quickly respond to the problems of each district. First of all, the townspeople should evaluate their work,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

According to him, the city authorities are currently analyzing the work of district administrations and working with the international company Ernst & Young, which provides audit and management consulting services, on the optimization of executive authorities.

«Everyone is working as usual in wartime conditions. New tasks have appeared, which are related to the elimination of the consequences of arrivals. The question of the necessity of these structures depends on their effectiveness. If they perform their tasks properly, then they are definitely needed. We continue to analyze the work of the administrations to ensure the maximum benefit for the residents of the city. In addition, we are working with Ernst & Young on changing the structure of executive bodies. This also applies to administrations, including fulfilling their work with residents,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the funding of Mykolaiv district administrations has increased several times. Today, they mainly repair roads in the private sector and residential areas, clean the streets of garbage and natural landfills. Less often, they deal with more narrowly focused problems exclusively of their districts. Other work is carried out by specialized utility companies, management and the department of the city council. This can be the repair of social facilities, recovery after shelling of residential buildings, repair of children's playgrounds, maintenance of green areas and other works. However, administrations are responsible for the current state of the territory within their area of responsibility.

Yuliia Boichenko, NikVesti

The work on this material became possible thanks to the Fight for Facts project, which is implemented with the financial support of the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.