Communal paradise for the elite. Uzhgorod landscaping and street cleaning cost millions

Are the streets of the regional center clean? Be not hasty to shake your heads or bridle, because the budget provides for the cleaning nearly 6 million (!) hryvnias. And more than one and a half million has been allocated for landscaping. The money went to, in addition to utilities, some private entities. They are owned, as it turned out, by housing offices’ directors.

One million for the "flowers"

December 17 last year, the Department of Municipal Economy announced the tender for landscaping of Uzhgorod. By a strange "coincidence", only the companies close to the municipality took part in it. Whether other companies really did not want to plant trees and gardens in Uzhgorod, or they were simply asked "not to want" – now it’s impossible to find out.

According to the Journal of Public Procurement, for tree trimming, flower bed maintaining, green zones mowing, ME "AgroMix" will receive one and a half million hryvnias. It seems that merely as a formality, another utility – KSHEP – requested for these services 146,000 UAH more.

For mowing the grass on Sobranetska, Hoyda, Babushkin, Zahorska, Griboyedov, Universytetska, Franko, Zakarpatska, Mytna streets, the "AgroMix" will receive nearly 35,000 UAH (KSHEP requested as much as 38,500 UAH).

Another 24 and a half thousand "AgroMix" will receive from the budget for mowing grass on Gagarin, Dvorak, Budyteli, Drugety, Shumna, Elektrozavodska, Timiriaziev, Olbracht, Ruska, Ankudinov streets and Cyril and Methodius square (KSHEP wanted for this 27,000).

Landscaping for 1.5 million provoked response from online users. In the social network "Facebook" they even asked ironically: is flower growing really so expensive?

The director of the Department of Municipal Economy Oleksiy Kasperov explained, "It would be wrong to focus only on flowers, there is also cleaning up of parks and gardens, tree trimming, mowing, etc. This price includes the costs of the equipment and machinery, wages and taxes."

Substitution for housing offices

If the transfer of the money to utilities is more or less understandable, the question arises: why do they need to give extra money to private entities?

Thus, lawn mowing on Mynaiska, Hrushevsky, Zankovetska streets, Svoboda, Jambul Avenues, Pravoslavna and Kyivska embankments will cost Uzhgorod budget almost 67,000 UAH. This money will go to "Dvirnyk" private enterprise.

It is registered at the same address, as … the Housing Office number 5, which is headed by the city council deputy, member of the Party of Regions Anatoliy Kovalsky – 8 Bereznya st., 28.

The same situation is with the PE "Prybyralnyk Plus". It will receive 41,000 UAH from the budget. For this money they will mow the grass on Lehotsky, 8 Bereznya, Babiak, H. Svobody, Peremoha streets, Volodymyrska and Slovynaska embankments. The buildings at the said locations are served by the "Zhytlo-Service" LLC (formerly Housing Office number 7). Incidentally, PE "Prybyralnyk Plus" is also registered at the same address as the "Zhytlo-Service." What’s more: the two structures have the same director – Bohdan Terenyak.

"Dvirnyk" and "Prybyralnyk Plus" managed to submit their proposals for the tender as to not interfere with each other’s activities, that looks like a monopolistic conspiracy. In fact, those companies are housing offices’ satellites that have the same directors and, quite possibly, even the same staff.

But it is not understandable why the Uzhgorod management can not instruct housing offices, that receive monthly rent from city residents, to mow the grass on the streets assigned to them. Instead, they pay extra hefty money from the budget to the ghost companies that are controlled by the same housing offices directors.

As for PE "Dvirnyk", according to the deputy of the city council Vasyl Hnatkiv, it also collect the rent from the residents of high rises. For unknown reasons the above mentioned Housing Office number 5 voluntarily entrusted the "Dvirnyk" to serve some of these buildings. The legality of those actions is now being established by the police.

Clean Uzhgorod for 6 million 

5,892,000 UAH – such amount will be paid from the regional center city budget for street cleaning. Part of the money will go to the accounts of private companies.

Thus, the Journal of Public Procurement informs, PE "Dvirnyk" will receive almost 218,000 UAH for cleaning up 18 streets. PE "Prybyralnyk-Plus" will receive 131,000 UAH for cleaning up another 9 streets. Again, these companies will be cleaning the territories that are assigned to the Housing Office number 5 and the "Zhytlo-Service" LLC.

KSHEP will receive the largest amount for cleaning up – as much as 5,487,000 UAH.   

So if our streets remain messy, as they are now, and utilities complain about the economic crisis, you should know: millions have been allocated for this business in Uzhgorod. And part of this big money goes to private hands.

Stary Zamok