A date has been set for hearings in the case of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs violating tender rules

business and government

Last Friday, Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk said that the results of the tender to create a positive image of Ukraine abroad could be revised. Thus, Mr. Tarasyuk, who previously claimed that the ministry did not commit any violations when organizing the tender, reconsidered his position. Mr. Tarasyuk’s statement came immediately after the Economic Court of Kyiv set a date for trial in the claim of CFC Consulting, challenging the results of the tender.

At a press conference on Friday, Boris Tarasyuk said that the company that won the tender (Conglomerate) must prove its ability to implement the presented program to create a positive image of Ukraine. According to Mr. Tarasyuk, if this does not happen, “it is necessary to talk about terminating the contract with this company.” The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said that the public should be informed about further developments: “We have come to the conclusion that there is a need for public discussion of this tender.”

Meanwhile, the tender became the subject of public discussion even before Mr. Tarasyuk submitted his proposal. As Kommersant reported (see issue dated January 23), a scandal broke out immediately after the announcement of the tender results. Then other participants announced a number of violations committed by ministry employees. As explained by the chief project manager of the CFC Consulting company participating in the tender, Konstantin Gridin, the decision on the winner was made before the public presentation of the programs by its participants, and the contract with the winner of the tender, the Kharkov company Conglomerate, was signed ahead of schedule.

The Ukrainian Association of Public Relations (UAPR) also announced violations. Chairman of the Board of UAPR Ivetta Delikatnaya said that since the tender amount exceeded 300 thousand euros (and it amounted to 14 million UAH, that is, about 2.3 million euros), then its holding should have been announced through the international media, which was done did not have. In addition, according to her, the tender should have been held for at least 45 days, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the start of the tender on December 12, and on December 21 it had already determined the winner.

Market participants are not only talking about the lack of professionalism of the tender organizers. Their winner, the Kharkov company Conglomerate, raises no less questions. “Having received $2.5 million to fulfill the contract, the Conglomerate company did not hold the promised presentation for journalists for a month and a half, and on the website of the Berlin Film Festival there is not a single mention of the presentation of Ukrainian cinema, announced by the winner of the tender as one of the points of its program,” — Konstantin Gridin told Kommersant.

UAPR board member Martin Nunn believes that there is nothing unusual in the Conglomerate’s inaction. “The real cost of the services offered by the Conglomerate company ranges from $15 million to $20 million, and it is absolutely impossible to fulfill the program announced by the company for $2.5 million,” he claims.

The Conglomerate company still remains inaccessible to the media. Their website still states that the company specializes in the valuation of movable and immovable property, and no one answers the phone numbers listed on the website. Emails sent to the specified email addresses remain unanswered.

Violations during the tender were discovered not only by representatives of the Ukrainian PR community. The Ministry of Economy also reported that the provisions of Ukrainian legislation were violated during the tender. However, the Ministry of Economy reported that the results of the tender can only be canceled by a court decision, since the contract with the winner of the tender has already been signed.

Despite all the above statements, Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk for a long time in every possible way denied the possibility of any violations by employees of his department. As Kommersant reported, according to Mr. Tarasyuk, the tender was conducted “transparently,” and the scandal was the result of the actions of the losing companies. Mr. Tarasyuk began to have doubts about this only last Friday, the day after the date was set for the first court hearing on the claim of CFC Consulting, challenging the results of the tender. The Kyiv Economic Court will consider CFC Consulting's claims on March 13.

ROMAN Kommersant

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