The First One Has Gone. Investigation into Kostusev's Resignation, Upcoming Staffing Upheavals Revealed

The First One Has Gone. Investigation into Kostusev's Resignation, Upcoming Staffing Upheavals Revealed

Kostusev's resignation may be the first in a series of personnel reshuffles

Yesterday, 31 October, Oleksiy Kostusev, who had run Odesa for almost three years, resigned as city mayor. Forbes.ua found out why the official gave up the seat he had clung to so hard in recent years.

Neither the official nor his representatives commented on this move.

The publication points out that Kostusev's problems began long ago. Just three months after taking office he fell out with the regional governor, Eduard Matviychuk. The officials disagreed over who should control the subsidies the city received from the state budget to prepare for Euro-2012. Later Matviychuk repeatedly accused the mayor of discrediting the Party of Regions.

In early December 2011 the media reported that Kostusev had submitted a resignation request. It was not officially published, and at that time the mayor went on sick leave. Vitaliy Barvynenko, an MP from the PR, notes that after 2011 there were working relations between Kostusev and Matviychuk and no direct clashes occurred.

Moreover, in the parliamentary elections of 2012 Kostusev had a serious conflict with his son, Oleksiy Honcharenko. In the 133 district where his son tried to run, the mayor openly supported Ihor Markov, who won a seat in the Rada.

This year, the publication notes, Kostusev fell out with influential Odesa regionalist Serhiy Kivalov. In April the MP launched a barrage of criticism at the mayor. In response, the mayor accused the former head of the CEC of being involved with the company Vikoil, which is trying to build over a green zone in Odesa along the coastal slopes—from Langeron to Arcadia. From various sources Barvynenko learned that yesterday, 31 October, Kostusev was allegedly summoned to the Presidential Administration. Nevertheless, whether there was a meeting with Viktor Yanukovych is unknown. Matviychuk visited the Presidential Administration the same day, the publication notes. Yesterday morning the leader of the Rodina faction, Oleksandr Kazarnovsky, even said that, according to his information, the president had dismissed the Odesa governor. However, Matviychuk later denied this information, and afterward Kostusev's resignation became known.

The reason could have been Kostusev's high negative rating "They explained to him: if he doesn't leave voluntarily, they will 'make him leave' forcibly," a Forbes source close to one of the president's advisers told Forbes on condition of anonymity. If so, the authorities could have used two criminal cases opened by the Prosecutor General's Office in July of this year as leverage. The mayor was suspected of concealing income obtained by criminal means.

The publication examined why Kostusev resigned now. His colleagues in the Party of Regions comment on the question briefly in official conversations. "Partly the story with Ihor Markov played a role, but only partly. As someone who has talked a lot with Kostusev, I can say he did not want the city to become a hostage to his personal problems," Barvynenko says.

For his part, Serhiy Faermark, a member of the Batkivshchyna faction in parliament, believes the Presidential Administration is now preparing a "reboot" of local authorities. "They will replace a number of regional leaders. First of all — ahead of the presidential elections 2015. Ratings are a delicate thing; new faces are needed," the opposition politician says.

Forbes.ua