Ukraine's Defence Minister on procurement: We're driving out people with old practices

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has said that people who continue to adhere to "old practices" are being "driven out" of the ministry.

Source: Umierov in an interview with Suspilne, in response to a question about procurement reform in the Ministry of Defence

Quote: "There are a lot of questions, and a lot of problems too. We are driving out all these people with old practices. And you’re going to hear about a lot of things we’re doing, you’re going to hear a lot of accusations against us because we’re driving these people out."

Details: Umierov said the ministry has set up a Procurement Policy Department to develop a procurement policy and launch separate agencies for lethal and non-lethal procurement.

Now, Umierov noted, if Ukraine receives international technical assistance, it is clear how it comes in and who it is from.

"We have also suggested that we would be very open to a certain extent, so that they could also review our direct contracts, which ones we have with which suppliers, for how much, and so on, so that they can help rebuild internal risk management, compliance and procedures. Unfortunately, procurement has constantly been politicised. There are a lot of old practices that don’t correspond to the present day, and they need to change. In other words, we have done a lot, but it’s not enough. And the most risky thing is that the transition period isn’t over yet," the minister said.

Umierov also noted that the Defence Ministry has changed its staff, replacing all the deputy ministers apart from one who is responsible for the military side rather than procurement.

"We’ve done a reboot at the top level. And now it’s the responsibility of my new deputies to reboot the entire vertical. In other words, we have already done a horizontal reset. Now, in the coming weeks and months, their task will be to reboot these verticals.  And they have already started to do so. I think they are doing it slowly.  It should be fast, clear, and uncompromising," Umierov said.

Background:

• It was reported on 21 December that starting from 1 April 2024, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence would be procuring food for the military under new rules: based on a catalogue of 409 specified food items for professionally drawn-up menus, taking average prices into account, with separate tenders for delivery.
• On 22 December, it was disclosed that the head of one of the Ministry of Defense's Main Departments was arrested in Kyiv for his involvement in pocketing UAH 1.5 billion (US$39.6 million) intended to be used to buy artillery shells for the country's armed forces. His custody was remanded without bail by the court until 19 February 2024.

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