Temporary silence: why "hostile" voices against the DOT have fallen silent
Kyiv • UNN
Why have the "hostile" voices against the DOT fallen silent
One day, a powerful information attack on the State Logistics Operator suddenly came to a halt. Various so-called "experts" posted a huge number of posts on their social media pages, which were then replicated by some media outlets, mercilessly criticizing any decision and any step of the State Logistics Operator. And suddenly there was silence, UNN writes.
On the one hand, everything seems to be logical. The organizers of the "dirty" information campaign against DOT failed to achieve all their goals either through the courts or through attempts at outright media pressure.
Firms that had been supplying food to the Armed Forces for years wanted to preserve the old system of relationships, which the DOT had undertaken to reform.
Even outright sabotage, when these companies unanimously withdrew from tenders, did not jeopardize the nutrition of Ukrainian fighters.
The DOT signed direct contracts with suppliers to provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with food in 13 sectors covering the whole of Ukraine. The average price per meal was UAH 111.49. Based on the results of two rounds of commercial offers, 5 suppliers were selected whose offer was the most cost-effective.
Thus, according to Arsen Zhumadilov, CEO of the State Logistics Operator, the sabotaging firms were left not just without excessive profits, but without any profits at all.
"They are used to the fact that they make excessive profits. In our contracts, of course, those business entities that are contracted, they will probably make some profit, but it will not be excessive profit because of the mechanisms to control the price and to control the actual movement of goods. But it will not be excessive profits, it will not be 30-40 percent or more of the contract value.
We had to sign contracts under the new model of supplier relations by March 15. We have accomplished this task. We are now entering the stage of contract execution," Zhumadilov said.
Even the attempt to criticize the DOT for these direct contracts was a failure. After all, it is difficult to explain to the public why you make claims against the structure for performing its direct functions in order not to leave Ukrainian soldiers hungry.
Moreover, earlier Zhumadilov hinted that the direct organizers of the "dirty" campaign are known and are being dealt with by law enforcement.
"I really hope that the law enforcement agencies will give a proper assessment of the actions of all those who were involved in the last stages. That is, it is one thing when you do not participate in the procedures - this is your decision, but it is another thing when you try to put pressure on other market participants so that they do not enter these procedures, so that they do not offer their products, threaten, etc. I hope that such behavior will be properly assessed by law enforcement agencies, and when they come up with certain investigative actions, suspicions, etc., these names will be known. These are the people behind one of the suppliers," said the DOT director general.
At the same time, we should not expect that even in this situation, the opponents of reforms will completely abandon their goals. Most likely, they have taken a wait-and-see attitude and will closely monitor how the supply of food to the Armed Forces under the new contracts will begin on April 1.
And this poses certain threats and risks to the State Defense Department. Any disruption of supplies or the discovery of low-quality products in the warehouses of military units will trigger a new wave of information attacks, which may be even more powerful than the previous ones, because now the State Logistics Operator will be directly responsible for all real and even fictitious shortcomings.
To what extent Zhumadilov is ready for this is a rhetorical question. But it is clear that the State Logistics Operator needs to tighten control over suppliers to avoid any unpleasant situations. And in case of their occurrence, it needs to respond promptly both in terms of elimination and communication.
Context
Earlier, the Kyiv District Administrative Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging the requirements set forth in the draft contract for the purchase of food for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In particular, the plaintiff challenged the requirements regarding the obligation of suppliers to register tax invoices in a timely manner and to provide the customer with the opportunity to check the storage conditions of food to be supplied to the military.
After that, the firms suspected of collusion withdrew from the tenders.
Earlier, the Board of the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, following a lawsuit filed by Trade Granit Invest, canceled the condition prohibiting the participation in tenders of suppliers who failed to fulfill their obligations to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in 2022-2023.
Because of this, the State Logistics Operator was forced to cancel 11 tenders.
The company Trade Granite Invest is most likely involved in a powerful information attack on the new team of the Defense Ministry and the DOT, which could be led by Viktor Medvedchuk, a traitor to Ukraine.
