SE "Lysy Ukrainy" is starting a pilot project for the procurement of wood harvesting services through the electronic platform Prozorro, the head of the company, Yuriy Bolokhovets, said.
"Forest farms have always purchased harvesting services under direct contracts. We plan to completely transfer them to open tenders. This is several billion hryvnias per year. In the fourth quarter, a pilot project will start in several regions. Specialists of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" are analyzing the market and working on the development of technical requirements," Bolokhovets said.
According to his information, the reform is expected to create a competitive market, attract the maximum number of players, invest in modern equipment and new technologies, additional jobs, increase deductions to budgets at all levels, reduce cases of illegal procurement, and improve the quality of work.
"This is already the fourth stage of the anti-corruption program that we are implementing. In the first, we banned direct contracts and transferred the sale of wood to specialized exchanges. In the second, we transferred to Prozorro the main purchases of SE "Forests of Ukraine" - from fuel to road construction. In the third, we refused from unprofitable processing plants and began to transfer them to the State Property Fund," explained the head of the enterprise.
Bolokhovets noted that the "Forests of Ukraine" anti-corruption program also provides for the strengthening of control tools and digitalization. However, the problem of corruption can be overcome only by institutional reforms, creation of a system that minimizes the "official factor", introduces transparent and open rules of the game for business, he emphasized.