“According to the expert, the procedure for the transfer of the Chornomorsk port is more reminiscent of a planned special operation to expropriate state property than a real attraction of investments / UNIAN photo, Oleksandr Kosarev Announced in…”, — write: www.unian.ua
According to the expert, the procedure for the transfer of the Chornomorsk port is more like a planned special operation to expropriate state property than a real investment attraction / photo UNIAN, Oleksandr KosarevThe tender for the concession of a strategic state-owned enterprise announced at the weekend has signs of fictitiousness and is registered under a predetermined “winner”, which threatens the state with billions in losses.
Human rights activist and volunteer Serhii Naumovych writes about this in his blog on Censor.net, analyzing the scandalous situation surrounding the transfer into private hands of the first and container terminals of the Chornomorsk seaport.
According to the expert, the asset transfer procedure is more like a planned special operation to expropriate state property than a real investment attraction. The main marker of the corruption component is the refusal of a transparent auction and suspicious urgency.
Naumovich draws attention to the fact that the start of the competition was announced on Saturday, actually “under the Christmas tree”, when the attention of society and international partners is minimal.
“This is a classic Ukrainian scheme: if you want to steal quietly – do it on the weekend or on holidays. The announcement of the concession appeared suddenly, and the deadlines for submitting applications are so short that no serious global investor will physically have time to conduct an audit and prepare documents. This means one thing: the “winner” has been sitting in the minister’s office drinking coffee for a long time, and the competition is just a screen,” he is indignant. human rights defender
The author of the blog emphasizes that the key issue is the chosen procedure. Instead of an open auction at the Prozorro site, where the one who offers the highest price to the state wins, the officials decided to hold a closed “concession tender”.
“What’s the difference? On Prozorro, everything is simple: the one who gave more money to the budget won. In the “concession competition”, the commission chooses the winner based on subjective criteria. That is, the winner can be the one who pays the state less, but negotiates “correctly” with the officials. This is a return to the times of Yanukovych and the manual management of state property,” Naumovich emphasizes.
Analyzing the tender documentation, the expert points to discriminatory conditions that actually cut off Ukrainian business and unwanted competitors. The requirements are written so specifically that only a limited circle of companies, or even one specific firm, can fit under them.
“The conditions are written in such a way as to cut off any real competition. This is not market relations, this is the creation of a monopoly for “their own”. Ukrainian companies that have been working in ports for years, investing and paying taxes, remain on board. And the state will receive pennies instead of the real market value,” the material states.
Serhiy Naumovych also raises the issue of environmental and social risks. According to him, the environmental impact assessment procedure was carried out formally or was ignored, and the guarantees for the labor team of the port appear to be declarative.
“We have already seen how such “concessions” end – with the release of people and the squeezing of juices from the infrastructure without real investments. But now, during the war, it is also a matter of national security. Who is really behind the offshore ships that can enter the port? Are the ears of the aggressor country sticking out there?”, the author wonders.
The human rights defender calls on anti-corruption authorities (NABU, SAP) and the public to immediately intervene in the situation and stop the process of “shadow privatization”.
“If we swallow it now, we will lose control over the strategic sea gates. This tender should be canceled, and the transfer of the port should take place exclusively through a transparent Prozorro auction with maximum involvement of participants. Everything else is theft from a warring country,” sums up Serhiy Naumovych.
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