The mayor's subordinates will inspect Mykolaivvodokanal's anti-corruption work

Anti-corruption work of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» will be inspected by a commission that includes exclusively employees of the department of the mayor. No deputies or representatives of other structures are included in it. Such an inspection is provided for by the order of the Mykolaiv mayor dated 28 September.

The grounds were a letter from the enterprise’s director dated 15 June regarding the organization of the municipal enterprise’s work and an appeal from the water utility’s anti-corruption officer Ihor Bloshko. He stated that the enterprise’s management may be obstructing his lawful activities.

Three officials were included in the commission:

• Vitalii Yaroshenko — Deputy Director of the department of the mayor, who headed the commission;
• Svitlana Kyrylenko — Head of the Department for Prevention and Detection of Corruption of that department;
• Rita Mahei — Senior Specialist of the same department.

The inspection period was set from 28 September to 30 October. Its results are to be submitted directly to the mayor.

The regulations on the Department for Prevention and Detection of Corruption of the Mayor’s Department allow it to initiate inspections of the organization of anti-corruption work at municipal enterprises. The department can also control and coordinate the activities of their anti-corruption officers. At the same time, under these regulations it is accountable and subordinate to the Mykolaiv City Council.

Certain powers of deputy oversight over enterprises subordinate to the city council are established by the Law “On Local Self-Government in Ukraine”:

• permanent council commissions may, on their own initiative, study the activities of such enterprises, obtain necessary documents and submit recommendations;
• the city council may form temporary control commissions from among deputies to inspect specific issues.

However, for the inspection of the water utility, the published order chose not the deputy mechanism but a commission composed of employees of the mayor’s department.

The anti-corruption officer’s appeal also has prior context. In June, during the scandal over the failure of the chair of the enterprise’s supervisory board to submit a declaration, Ihor Bloshko reported that he had twice officially reminded her of the need to submit declarations. When the declaration period ended, he turned to law enforcement.

24 September the Mykolaiv City Council failed to dismiss the chair of the supervisory board of «Mykolaivvodokanal» Hanna Montavon. At the same time, 21 deputies supported an amendment that proposed recognizing unsatisfactory performance as the reason for her dismissal.

Earlier we wrote:

• Who gifted 2.37 million UAH — the declaration of the chair of the supervisory board of the municipal enterprise “Mykolaivvodokanal”
• Over 8 million without tenders: at “Mykolaivvodokanal” they are investigating a scheme with inflated prices
• After the scandals, Mykolaivvodokanal opened a hotline for reports about corruption
• Mykolaivvodokanal: 4 years of crisis, a 2026 loss of 667.4 million UAH, 57% of staff are afraid to expose abuses
• Scandal in Mykolaiv: deputies demand the mayor investigate the conflict in the water utility’s management