The Subsoil Resources of Ukraine Will Be Led by Controversial Officials

The subsoil resources of Ukraine will be led by controversial officials

Yesterday the government, contrary to the judges’ decisions, chose a new head of the State Geology and Subsoil Protection Service of Ukraine.

The acting head became the scandalously known “undeservedly approved” official from Zhytomyr region, Oleh Kyrylyuk. Previously he won the competition for the position of deputy head of the agency, but due to numerous violations the judges canceled the competition committee’s decision. Nevertheless, the Cabinet appointed Kyrylyuk as head of the State Geology Service, rather than the no less controversial Mykola Foshchiy, against whom criminal cases have been opened, as his first deputy.

Oleh Kyrylyuk is a former member of the Party of Regions, the head of Zhytomyr State Administration of Architecture and Urban Planning (DABI). Local media dubbed him an “underdelivered” official. As activist Volodymyr Kaspruk of the NGO “Geology of Ukraine” explains, in 2014 year they tried to push him for the post of head of the territorial department of the State Geological Service in Zhytomyr region, but locals organized a protest and prevented it. When Kyrylyuk sought to become deputy head of the State Land Cadastre, Zhytomyr businessmen feared that the ex-regional would place them on a “meter.” Local AutoMaidan activists, in turn, sent a letter to Groysman stating that Kyrylyuk should be purged, not appointed to a high position.

By the way, according to sources, Kyrylyuk is a candidate for the position of deputy minister of agrarian policy and food, Maksym Martyniuk, who is an ally of Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

In addition, the government also appointed another no less controversial first deputy head of the State Geology Service – Mykola Foshchiy. He previously served as general director of the state-owned enterprise “South Ukrainian Geological Exploration” and was dismissed amid a scandal after an auditor revealed irrational use of state funds, multi-million delays in salary payments to workers, and driving the enterprise toward bankruptcy. Moreover, Foshchiy was accused of violating anti-corruption laws for making his own son his deputy.

In October last year, the controversial Mykola Foshchiy and Oleh Kyrylyuk “won” the competition for deputies to the head of the State Geology Service. However, a number of courts suspended the competition commission’s decision, canceled it, and ordered a new competition to be held.

As a reminder, the competition won by Foshchiy and Kyrylyuk was assessed negatively. Experts noted that the commission members did not ask participants concrete questions about the further development of the State Geology Service and its immediate tasks. Specialists were struck by the selective questions directed at one of the winners, focusing solely on his career path and professional achievements, while clarifications were sought about several criminal proceedings against him. Moreover, video materials show that the commission members did not listen attentively to candidates, frequently consulting with someone by phone via SMS and calls. Often, commission members exited the hall where the competition took place, which could have influenced the final result.

Furthermore, this week a head competition for the State Geology Service was supposed to take place, but due to a strange coincidence the quorum was not met. Thus, the head competition for this agency was postponed to 23 May.

Ruslan Yakushev