Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine, hopes that the experience gained from the ProZorro.Sale system will be used in other industries and state enterprises— as he stated at the press conference dedicated to a new stage in the project’s development. He also added that TI Ukraine received numerous requests from other industries eager to switch to transparent sales:
WE HAVE A UNIQUE PRODUCT THAT CAN BE EXTENDED TO COVER MUNICIPAL ASSET SALES IN THE PUBLIC UTILITY SECTOR. IN COOPERATION WITH THE STATE PROPERTY FUND, THE MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE HAS ALREADY PREPARED A NEW FORWARD-LOOKING DRAFT LAW ON SMALL-SCALE PRIVATIZATION. IT IS CRUCIAL TO US THAT THE PRINCIPLES OF PROZORRO ARE APPLIED AT THE STATE LEVEL TO DISPOSE CONFISCATED ASSETS. STORIES SUCH AS THE ONE OF KURCHENKO’S OIL PRODUCTS ARE ALL TOO FAMILIAR TO US: FIRST, THE OCTANE NUMBER IN THEIR PRODUCTS PLUMMETED, THEN THE STATE SOLD THEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT IT WILL HARDLY GET ANY MONEY IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn noted that the enterprises cleared of fraud schemes (e.g. UkrGasVydobuvannya, where Onyshchenko’s schemes were eliminated) demonstrated exceptionally effective management performances resulting in surging revenues. TI Ukraine’s Executive Director hopes that the number of so-called ProZorro agents among state enterprises will only increase.
The ProZorro.Sale team has launched an electronic auction for the disposal of state-owned marginal assets. Now, state-owned and municipal property, like unprocessed timber and scrap metal, can be sold there. UkrGasVydobuvannya and Ukrenergo have jumped on the bandwagon already. “In 2017, used property of state-owned enterprises, marginal assets, and timber will be sold through ProZorro.Sale. We are also planning to organise transparent auctions for the lease of state-owned property and small-scale privatization. Our plan is to reach 7 billion in sales this year,” Oleksii Soboliev, Project Lead at ProZorro.Sale, said during the briefing at the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.
Proceeds from the pilot project for sale of the Deposit Guarantee Fund’s assets have reached UAH 400 million already. “The system we have been using mirrors ProZorro.Sale. There is a central database where transactions are stored, and the actual bidding and the statistics are open for everyone to observe. To offset information asymmetry, 28 e-bidding websites are running simultaneously,” noted Maksym Nefiodov, the First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.
Ukrenergo is planning to auction UAH 70 million worth of lots this year. “It is mostly scrap metal. But we are expecting the law on electricity market to be adopted, which would put Ukrenergo off the list of enterprises with virtually untouchable assets. This would give us a free hand in the disposal of marginal assets. A whole lot of property which is in fact idle will be available for sale. The very next year the annual turnover will reach UAH 150–200 million,” said Vsevolod Kovalchuk, Head of SE NPC Ukrenergo. “The first lots we’ve put on sale are scrap metal. We intend to sell 1,000 tonnes per year. We also have used oils and accumulators that we can put on sale without involving an independent appraiser. Once the law gains force, we will auction UAH 500 million worth of real assets,” added Andrii Khomenko, Advisor to the Head of PJSC UkrGasVydobuvannya.
