SE Ukrmedproektbud canceled 10 procurement transactions for equipment for the new building of Okhmatdyt which were to be held according to the negotiation procedure. The DOZORRO specialist analyzed three of them and found an overpayment for at least UAH 89 mln. The amount of overpayment on all the negotiation procedures could have been even higher.

In general, the expected cost of the canceled procurement transactions was more than UAH 612 mln. Now, the SE Ukrmedproektbud plans to hold open auctions.

DOZORRO appealed to the NABU with a request to investigate this case. In a telephone conversation, the authorized person of the procuring entity reported that they were summoned for questioning. 

The construction was allowed to be completed without open bidding, but only through negotiation procedures, in order to open a new building of Okhmatdyt for the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. 

However, it did not happen.

The new building of the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital was not opened in time for Independence Day. However, competitive auctions in Prozorro for the procurement of equipment were canceled and negotiations were announced for larger amounts. At least UAH 89 mln more will be paid for speeding up deliveries than it was planned to spend on tenders.

At the end of June, procurement of equipment for Okhmatdyt, among other infrastructure projects dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Independence, was allowed to be conducted according to negotiation procedures. Before that, these procurement transactions had to be carried out through auctions in Prozorro. Some of them were even already announced. The total expected cost of purchasing surgical tables, anesthesia and respiratory devices, ventilators, as well as sets of equipment for surgeries amounted to UAH 254 mln.

When the procuring entity — SE Ukrmedproektbud — received permission to purchase under negotiation procedures, they canceled auctions and announced their intention in the system to conclude contracts under negotiation procedures. However, the expected cost of these procurement transactions has increased compared to previous auctions up to UAH 343 mln. So, the overpayment will amount to at least UAH 89 mln if we consider it as the difference between the expected cost of negotiation procedures and canceled tenders. And this is more than 25%. Dozorro specialists sent a letter with a detailed description of the situation and a request to investigate it to the NABU.

However, the price at tenders could still decrease. For example, a company that participated in an auction for the supply of surgical tables, was ready to supply them for UAH 26.4 mln. The company informed the procuring entity about this by a letter with a price offer. However, Ukrmedproektbud signed an agreement with the company which agreed to supply the tables in less than a month, but for UAH 58 mln. 

“This is a rather strange situation,” explains Ivan Lakhtionov, deputy executive director of TI Ukraine for innovative projects, “Is it worth paying twice as much to reduce the delivery time of goods by several weeks? To avoid such a situation, we called on Ukrmedproekt to choose a supplier publicly and engage various participants.”

This year, the NABU completed investigation of corruption during the construction of Okhmatdyt in 2012. The country suffered UAH 30 mln in losses because the procuring entity paid the contractor money on the basis of forged acts; however, the equipment was never delivered.

The completion of the new building of the largest children’s hospital in the country was allowed to be purchased without an auction. The procurement was added to the list of events dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. 

To complete the construction of Okhmatdyt without auctions, it is planned to purchase expensive equipment worth more than a UAH 1 bln.

Transparency International Ukraine calls for negotiations with several participants and publication of equipment requirements, delivery times, and estimated prices.

“We were against changes in the legislation, which allowed to buy everything necessary for the celebration of Independence Day this year without auctions. However, they were still accepted. Accordingly, the only thing we can do now is to demand that the procedures be carried out as transparently as possible with the involvement of many participants in order to achieve savings,” explains the deputy executive director for the implementation of innovative projects of TI Ukraine Ivan Lakhtionov.

Let us remind you that in June, the Verkhovna Rada supported draft law 5309, which, despite several positive changes in the field of public procurement, brought many corruption risks. It is within this draft law that the procurement for the construction of the Great Ring Road was withdrawn from the scope of Prozorro. Moreover, it was allowed to buy everything necessary for the celebration of the 30th anniversary of independence of Ukraine and Constitution Day without auctions. Later the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the list of activities covered by this norm. It covered not only celebrations, but also major infrastructure projects, including the completion of the construction of the new building of the children’s hospital.

Concerns about the quick procurement has the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the hospital Oksana Korchynska. She believes that it will not be possible to purchase the necessary equipment in such a short time and claims that the terms of reference were redone for the negotiation procedure, so, it is not known whether the new equipment will be compatible with the previously purchased one.

Transparency International Ukraine calls on the Ministry of Healthcare to conduct procurement as transparently as possible, and therefore demands to publish the terms of reference for purchasing equipment and its delivery dates, as well as the expected cost. In addition, let us remind you that according to the current legislation, it is possible to conduct negotiations with more than one participant within the framework of the stipulated negotiation procedure. This will allow to purchase equipment at the best price.