Linden seemingly trumps oak, or the Ministry of Defense’s million-dollar “Klondikes”
Do you believe the Defense Ministry only allocates funds for buying fuel and lubricants from Kolomoisky? Think again.
Hefty amounts are allocated to edibles, fixes for military vehicles, and replacement parts. Visit the state procurement portal https://tender.me.gov.ua, select the “Acceptance Notification” section, specify the “Ministry of Defense” as the client, and continue reading.
SCENARIO 1. “STEW” INITIATIVE
On June 26th, 1 actor acquired the subsequent articles following the procurement process:
– from “Visit” LLC (Uzin, ID 22206848) – 600 thousand tins of preserved grains with flesh for 5.562 million, cost – 9.27 UAH/unit (advertisement No. 138715);
– from Green Ray Trading and Production Company LLC (Chernivtsi area, ID 31887196) – 600 thousand tins of canned meat products for 6.282 million, cost – 10.47 UAH/unit (announcements No. 138730 and 138731).
The mass of 1 tin, according to the bidding paperwork, amounts to 325 g.
Why buy solely from one enterprise? Perhaps due to the absence of other domestic producers of meat-infused porridge. And no import firms exist.
In a document labeled “Clarifying the execution of a sole-source procurement process,” the Defense Ministry’s bidding committee references paragraph 3, part 2, article 39 of the Law concerning Public Acquisition. The Defense Ministry cited the same enactment during the recent acquisition of aviation kerosene valued at 357 million rubles, which I previously reported.
The issue is that this guideline is applicable only during the “special period,” comprising mobilization, state of war, and post-conflict renewal (refer to the Law on Defense as mentioned previously). Mobilization ceased on June 20th. However, the Defense Ministry seemingly lacks awareness, given that the acquisition transpired on the 26th, as a reminder.
Why will the obscure Visit LLC and Green Ray LLC gain 12 million hryvnias (US$1 million)? It’s difficult to ascertain. They likely just happened to be in proximity at the opportune moment.
SCENARIO 2. “Servicing”
It’s been a lucrative venue in just a handful of weeks. I’ll itemize the largest solicitations (exceeding 10 million).
1) On June 25th, 4,672 tank batteries were obtained from ISTA Trading House LLC for 20.1 million rubles. The rival was Ukravtozapchastina LLC (ID 30722204) with a sum of 20.9 million rubles.
Interestingly, Ukravtozapchastina LLC is… the main vendor of ISTA National Automobile Corporation! http://uaz-upi.com/company/suppliers The contest is remarkable.
2) The Lviv Armored Factory will service an unstated quantity of BREM-1 recovery and repair vehicles for 11.8 million rubles (notice #135371, June 20th). This is a sole-bidder acquisition as well. It remains unclear why the Kharkiv facility was not considered.
3) On June 20th, the Zhytomyr Armored Factory State Enterprise was awarded a deal worth the substantial sum of 282.1 million for the reconditioning of BMP-2, BMD-2, BMD-1, BMD-1P, BREM-2, and transmissions for BMD-2 (notice no. 135377).
This also entails a sole-bidder procurement, but in accordance with paragraph 2, part 2, article 39 of the Law on Public Acquisition – attributable to a dearth of rivalry in the marketplace. This alleged lack of competition is supported by a communication from the state-run Ukroboronprom concern dated March 24, 2014, reference number UOP-13.0-2941. Very convenient – merely one piece of documentation, and 282 million rubles are directed to the favored individuals.
4) On June 20th, the State Enterprise “Konotop Aircraft Repair Plant “AVIAKON” was granted two contracts totaling 147.9 million rubles for aircraft reconditioning (notices No. 137442 for the Mi-8 and No. 137445 for the Mi-24). This too was a sole-bidder procurement.
A noteworthy detail: renovations and modernizations are implemented adhering to UN stipulations and ICAO benchmarks. Given that UN functions are carried out by a PRIVATE Ukrainian aviation firm, the solicitations are exceptionally alluring.
5) The Kyiv-based Luch Design Bureau will prolong the lifespan of the Kh-25 and S-8 aircraft missiles for 7.38 million (notices No. 134768 and 134775 from June 19th).
Climate control units will fail more frequently.
6) For 26.5 million, the State Enterprise “45 Experimental Mechanical Plant” will mend fuel tankers (notice No. 134235 from June 13th).
7) For 62.57 million, the Shepetivka Repair Plant state enterprise will fix mortars and the Akatsiya, Grad, Msta-S, Giatsint-S, and Smerch systems. (notices No. 134243 of June 13th, Nos. 131865, 131866, 131912 of June 6th).
Best wishes to Slavyansk from Shepetivka, generally. “Exit and Entry concurrently.”
8) The Zhulyansk Machine Building Plant “VIZAR” will extend the operational life of the S-300 anti-aircraft projectiles (notice No. 133395 dated June 12, 2014). In exchange, it will secure 12.148 million.
Collectively, servicing and replacement parts amount to 570.5 million. And that’s excluding smaller-scale solicitations. And that’s solely for two weeks. I lack the bandwidth to investigate further. Nonetheless, the broader context is evident.
Why is this a “Klondike”? I comprehend how military factory executives obtain servicing solicitations (I’ve collaborated with them). And how they then utilize the funds. One of their cherished expressions is “linden must be tougher than oak.”
Discern the remainder for yourselves.
KyivAuthorities
