The utility company “Derzhprom” concluded a new agreement on the purchase of tulips from the Netherlands, spending almost 420 thousand hryvnias. By data “Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center”, the contract was signed on November 18 with the FOP “Olexii Mykhailovych Gorbunov”. The amount of the deal is 419,156 hryvnias, and the delivery includes 12,500 tulip bulbs. They should be purchased by the end of 2024 and planted in flowerbeds in front of Derzhprom.
The cost of one bulb is 33 hryvnias. The contractor, FOP “Horbunov Oleksiy Mykhailovych”, is an entrepreneur from the Kharkiv region, specializing in the wholesale trade of flowers and plants. Previously, “Derzhprom” had repeatedly involved this contractor for the care of flower beds. For example, last year Gorbunov received contracts for planting flower beds for 744,000 hryvnias, processing Christmas trees for 40,000 hryvnias, planting chrysanthemums and installing the “Coat of Arms” symbol for 111,000 hryvnias.
During the full-scale war, Derzhprom’s expenditure on flowers had already reached considerable sums. In 2022, 116.5 thousand hryvnias were spent on tulips, in 2023 – 280 thousand hryvnias. Taking into account the new agreement, the total costs of “tulip” purchases will exceed 800,000 hryvnias.
It is noteworthy that tulip bulbs are planted mainly in winter. Last year, the director of “Derzhprom” tried to explain to the “Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center” why the company spends a lot of money on perennial plants. However, such spending continues to raise questions in the context of martial law and limited resources.
