State Audit Service checks catering procurement for Mykolaiv schools for ₴14 million

Porridge for Mykolaiv schoolchildren was cooked outside in the rain. Collage by NikVesti

The State Audit Service has launched an audit of the procurement of catering services for Mykolaiv's educational institutions due to signs of violations of public procurement legislation.

This is evidenced by data from the ProZorro public procurement system.

The procurement of catering services for 27 schools in Mykolaiv is worth over 14 million hryvnias.

The State Audit Service initiated the monitoring of the procurement procedure on 3 December, and on 8 December, the auditors requested explanations and documents from the Municipal Production Enterprise for Catering in Educational Institutions to justify the costs, technical and quality characteristics of the procurement item and the expected cost.

Screenshot from the ProZorro public procurement system

The MPE-C has three days (until 11 December) to submit all explanations through the electronic procurement system.

Catering for Mykolaiv schoolchildren

On 9 December, NikVesti showed the process of providing some of the city's schools with food prepared by a private company «Prosekko 8», which received a catering contract from the municipal enterprise. Parents of the children said that they did not receive breakfast on Monday, and the food was delivered only in the afternoon.

The footage showed the company's employees cooking porridge outside under a tent in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the scandal. After that, the Main Department of the National Police of Mykolaiv Region opened a criminal investigation into violations of the rules for preparing food for city schoolchildren.

Only in the evening did the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, respond to the video. The mayor called the situation unacceptable and initiated an inspection.

In her turn, Tetiana Dombrovska, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council, called the scandal with the new catering for schoolchildren a failure of the authorities. She demanded the dismissal of Vice Mayor Anatolii Petrov and Director of the MPE-C Petro Vasheniak.

It should be noted that Mykolaiv City Hall decided to engage a private contractor after a public outcry over the quality of school meals. At the end of November, MPE-C selected «Prosecco 8», which will deliver food to some of the city's schools in December. During the open tender «PROSSECCO 8» became the only participant and winner of the tender for catering services. The price of the services was 14 million 279 thousand 658 hryvnias.