The General Director of Ukrpost, Ihor Smilianskyi, addressed the public with a question about what is more of a priority for Ukrainians in the current conditions — immediate provision of electricity and heating or strict adherence to public procurement procedures to combat corruption.
This is reported by Finway
Challenges of Public Procurement During a Crisis
According to Smilianskyi, the state company Ukrpost is forced to conduct all equipment purchases through the electronic system “Prozorro.” This approach requires significant time and does not guarantee timely receipt of necessary resources. He emphasized that if the standard procedure is chosen, the delivery of equipment could be delayed until March, even in the most optimistic scenario.
The head of Ukrpost noted that accelerating the process through non-auction procurement could attract additional scrutiny from regulatory bodies in the spring when they investigate why equipment was purchased at higher prices in January.
“And believe me, you can nitpick 100% about any price. Moreover, it is easy to present something to the head of a state-owned company like: ‘Why didn’t you anticipate a harsh winter and purchase everything in advance in the summer of 2025?’ But that’s not even the funniest part. If everything is bought in advance and the winter is not as severe, an investigation will immediately arise for inefficient use and ‘freezing’ state funds in ineffective assets,” Smilianskyi noted.
Technical Resources and Daily Challenges
Ihor Smilianskyi emphasized that Ukrpost already has several thousand generators on hand, and hundreds of additional devices were purchased ahead of winter. However, these generators are not designed for continuous operation in severe frosts, and the company loses between 10 to 15 units of equipment daily. To ensure stable operation of the branches, the equipment is constantly repaired and replaced, but finding technicians without using cash remains a challenging task.
Smilianskyi also stated that he deliberately raised this topic now to return to the discussion in the spring after all procedures and challenges have been addressed.