This article is from last week's bigselling German newspaper, 'Die Zeit'.
[Google translated...sorry]:
European [football] championship pushes for price wooden bench in the Ukraine to $ 79,000
Before the European Football Championship in Ukraine to push their corrupt politicians, construction contracts, cash and carry off the national debt in the amount.
Ironically, Boris Kolesnikov. Ukrainian Vice Premier, Minister for Infrastructure, vice president of football club Schachtior Donetsk and chief organizer of the 2012 European Football Championship in Ukraine. The Ukrainska Pravda newspaper has revealed that Kolesnikov is also involved in the company AK Engineering. AK Engineering as the only bidder to have a ten-million-dollar government contract for the renovation of a sports area in the Palace of Sports Kiev received.
Ironically, Boris Kolesnikov has probably benefited most from the cronyism.
In about seven months, will kick off in Poland and Ukraine, the European Championship. Around 25 billion dollars on the Ukraine for the construction of stadiums, highways and airport terminals to spend. The football event has triggered a construction boom. Of which benefit mainly Ukrainian politicians. Million dollar government contracts were awarded to carefully selected Ukrainian companies - without public tender. At many companies are involved in those politicians who awarded the contracts.
The nepotism that drives costs up. Infrastructure projects are more expensive by far than planned. "There have already wasted billions of dollars from the state budget," says Ostap Semerak, an MP and member of the Budget Committee.
Government contracts without a lengthy tendering
A government decision in April 2010 makes it easy to politicians and officials in the Ukraine, for bribes and blaming each other jobs. Since last year, the Government may award contracts in connection with the EM without lengthy procurement of hand-picked companies. Therefore, there are 9 billion dollars from the state budget. Semerak says, "to award contracts without competition, it makes it easy to steal public funds." This practice was necessary because the previous government under Yulia Tymoshenko was in arrears with the preparations, replied Boris Kolesnikov.
Kolesnikov is a businessman. He owns several food factories and heard according to the magazine correspondent to the 50 richest Ukrainians. In 2005 he sat in jail for alleged extortion.
Besides Kolesnikov, there are other businessmen in the Yanukovich government. The Minister of Economy and Trade, Andrei Klujew should be involved in several banks. Social Minister Sergei Tigipko is co-owner of an insurance group, and the minister for natural resources has - how appropriate - Shares in steel and oil companies.
Also the company Altcom from Donetsk is entangled in the web of politics and business. The company has picked up in connection with the Euro 2012 government contracts worth billions. If in Ukraine motorways, airports and stadiums are being built, it is usually Altcom involved. Behind the company are to politicians and government officials are. The company structure is unclear, it is up to the Central American state of Belize rich.
A prime example of the lack of transparency and corruption is the stadium in Lviv (Lvov). Originally, an Austrian company to build the football stadium for the equivalent of $ 190 million. This was the city of Lviv but too expensive. The Austrians jumped off, the job went to Altcom. Now, the stadium will cost approximately $ 300 million.
Kyiv more expensive than the stadium in Munich
Even the Kiev Olympic Stadium is $ 550 million construction cost of the most expensive in Europe. The Munich's Allianz Arena with roughly the same capacity has cost only 438 million dollars. It was not like the stadium in Kiev, Munich rebuilt, but rebuilt. At the top it drove the city of Kharkov, which is also EM venue. The city government had bought for a metro station ten wooden benches. The price of a wooden bench in the Ukraine produced corresponds to a midsize car: $ 79,000.
Nearly 50 percent of the EM-cost fall of the Ukrainian state treasury to the load. For taxpayers, a tough load. The Ukraine was hard hit by the financial crisis. The country needs money paid off out of the International Monetary Fund and has billions in loans.
But even for the period after the European Championships in Ukraine, there are already new plans. The Lviv city wants to apply for the Olympic Winter Games 2022nd For the project "Olympic Hope 2022" the government wants to spend an additional four billion dollars.
1 comment:
$550 Million. The cost can be paid for outright by avoiding one round of the presidential elections.
Remove presidential power and authority, scrape the presidential direct elections and adopt a system where the head of state is elected by a constitutional majority of Ukraine's Parliament and Ukraine could have a new stadium fully paid for every five years.
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