Procurements for Defense Ministry politicized, says Umerov
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Procurement procedures in Ukraine’s Defense Ministry are undergoing review, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said in an interview with public broadcaster Suspilne on Dec. 23.
“The transitional period is ongoing, and it involves issues such as personnel changes or changes in leadership and commanders,” Umerov said, referring to the MoD’s Department of Procurement Policy.
“That is, what I inherited, or when I took it over, has a lot of issues.”
With assistance from U.S. and European partners, the department is progressing towards NATO standards.
“The Defense Ministry is becoming more open to them so that they can help rebuild internal risk management, compliance, and procedures,” Umerov said.
“Unfortunately, procurements have always been politicized. There are many old practices that do not correspond to today, and they need to change. We have done a lot, but it is not enough. The risky part is that the transitional period has not yet ended.”
He added that the Defense Ministry is working to rid itself of employees resorting to “old practices.”
In January, it became known that the Defense Ministry had been purchasing food-stuffs for soldiers at two to three times the price compared to those available in grocery stores in Kyiv.
In August, a scandal erupted over uniform procurement, as journalists uncovered that a batch of previously ordered military jackets had their prices triple during delivery.
In early September, Umerov’s predecessor, Oleksiy Reznikov, resigned from the position of Defense Minister.
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