The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine plans to purchase air conditioners with heating capabilities for nearly 1.3 million hryvnias, despite warnings from authorities and international organizations about an extremely challenging energy situation this winter. This information is available on the Prozorro website, as reported by UNN.
NABU intends to procure a total of four lots - air conditioners for offices in Kyiv and Dnipro, as well as an electric water heater for the office in Dnipro. The expected cost of the tender is nearly 1.3 million hryvnias, with funding coming from the state budget.
Currently, NABU is reviewing proposals. Two individual entrepreneurs have won the contracts for supplying air conditioners to the Kyiv branches.
It's worth noting that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine plans to purchase air conditioners amid statements from authorities and international partners regarding the extremely difficult energy situation this winter. In particular, this has been reiterated multiple times by Ukraine's Minister of Energy Herman Halushchenko. According to him, the challenges this winter will be greater than those faced in the winter of 2022-2023.
The UN mission forecasts that Ukrainians may experience power outages ranging from 4 to 18 hours per day this winter, and some regions might be left without heating.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the upcoming winter will be the most serious test for Ukraine since the full-scale invasion. The electricity deficit could reach six gigawatts this winter due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure and the expiration of the gas supply contract at the end of this year.
Therefore, we await NABU's decision. However, given the forecasts for the upcoming winter, a logical question arises - is it reasonable to spend over a million budgetary funds on air conditioners for the anti-corruption bureau right now?
Additionally
NABU purchased services for the renovation of toilets in April for more than 3 million hryvnias. In September, it planned to renovate facades and premises of administrative buildings for over 5 million hryvnias.
The budget allocated for maintaining anti-corruption agencies is striking. The expenses for NABU, SAP, and VAKS throughout their existence amount to approximately 12-13 billion hryvnias. At the same time, the budgetary appetites of anti-corruption agencies grow annually. Taxpayers are footing the bill, which has already led to new increases in levies.
Meanwhile, there are still significant questions regarding the effectiveness of anti-corruption bodies. Foreign experts, in a report evaluating NABU's activities, identified several issues. In particular, auditors concluded that detectives need to communicate with psychologists and an ombudsman to report problems at the workplace.
Additionally, international auditors noted that VAKS takes years to consider cases, while NABU detectives can investigate them for decades. However, as practice shows, the duration of investigations by anti-corruption officers does not affect their quality, as "high-profile" cases by NABU against officials have repeatedly collapsed in courts.