MP accuses Mykolaiv authorities of overpaying for Turkish buses instead of supporting Ukrainian producers

Part of a batch of buses purchased for the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivpastrans». Photo: NikVesti

Ukrainian MP Dmytro Kysylevskyi said that Mykolaiv City Hall «disgraced itself» by purchasing Turkish buses instead of supporting Ukrainian manufacturers.

He wrote about this on his Facebook page.

It should be noted that this refers to a batch of buses that entered Ukraine on 11 September. As NikVesti found out, they are intended for the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivpastrans».

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Mykolaiv is to receive a total of 26 buses as part of the EBRD loan. The loan amount is 4.7 million euros. At the same time, according to the MP, the procurement conditions were written for a Turkish manufacturer.

Kiselevskyi notes that Ukrainian factories could have supplied 55 buses to Mykolaiv for the same amount.

«If these funds were spent on the purchase of Ukrainian buses in the same quantity as those bought from the Turks, the city would save 98 million hryvnias, thousands of workers would be employed, and the Ukrainian manufacturer would pay about 40 million taxes that go to the Armed Forces. It would seem that this argument should have been enough for the city council of a frontline city. Instead, Mykolaiv City Hall decided to support Turkey's budget, its jobs, and its armed forces. And the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development supported the Turkish economy, causing damage to Ukraine's economy,» he said.

In the post, Dmytro Kysylevskyi cited the example of Lviv, where an agreement was signed with a local factory to purchase 48 buses with EBRD loans. He called it a «rational and patriotic position» of the city authorities.

«The technical characteristics of Ukrainian buses produced in Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zaporizhzhia and Lviv are in no way inferior to their foreign counterparts. The only difference is that about 200 enterprises across the country are involved in the production of Ukrainian buses. Each of them employs people whose families stayed and work here, among us, during the war. In addition, Ukrainian manufacturers have warehouses with spare parts that are as close to the customer as possible, so there is no need to import them. Service units, etc.,» the MP adds.

Dmytro Kysylevskyi also criticised the authorities of Mykolaiv for the so-called «Danish model», when international aid was directed to the needs of the frontline city and to support domestic enterprises, while Mykolaiv is turning to a Turkish manufacturer for transport.

«When purchasing buses, Mykolaiv City Hall behaved as if there was no war. There is a war going on, we have to be pragmatic. Those who do not understand this should read this post several times and finally understand: «Made in Ukraine» is not a slogan, but the only recipe for the survival of our country's economy in times of war,» the MP said.