Watchdog

A senior Ukrainian government official has been sacked following his arrest on allegations of corruption and after the Defense Ministry launched an internal audit to look into contracts that allegedly charge inflated prices.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the dismissal of Vasyl Lozynskiy on January 22 in a statement on Telegram. Lozynskiy had held the post of deputy minister for the development of communities, territories, and infrastructure since May 2020.

The Cabinet of Ministers said in a statement that the decision to dismiss the official was adopted at Shmyhal’s initiative during an extraordinary meeting on January 22.

“The Government of Ukraine is guided by the principle of zero tolerance for corruption and continues to build anti-corruption infrastructure,” the statement said.

Lozynskiy was arrested on January 21 by the Ukrainian National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) on suspicion of embezzlement.

The NABU said that Lozynskiy had received $400,000 “to facilitate the conclusion of contracts for the purchase of equipment and generators at inflated prices."

Generators are in high demand in Ukraine amid electricity shortages following Russian strikes on energy infrastructure.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry denied reports that it had grossly inflated food prices in a recent contract, but announced it would launch an internal audit and hold an emergency meeting with Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov on January 23.

Local media reports accused the ministry of having signed a deal at prices "two to three times higher" than current rates for basic foodstuffs.

The Defense Ministry called the reports "false" and said it purchases products "in accordance with the procedure established by the law."

If violations in the activities of Defense Ministry officials are detected during the audit, "they will be held accountable in accordance with current law," the ministry added.

The minister of Infrastructure and regional development, Oleksandr Kubrakov, commented on the dismissal of Lozynskiy on Facebook, noting that a reorganization involving the Ministry of Community, Territorial, and Infrastructure Development began at the end of December and is still ongoing.

"When making personnel decisions in the new ministry, we were guided by the need to preserve institutional memory, but, obviously, not like this,” he said on January 22.

Kubrakov said he has instructed the ministry's team to launch an audit of all active ministry projects, including budget funds, funds from international financial institutions, and technical assistance projects.

With reporting by AFP

Former Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has officially been named as chairman of the country's People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) under its new mandate as an independent legislative body.

The transition of the People's Council as parliament's house of representatives into the "supreme body of the people's power" was announced on January 21, and Berdymukhammedov was installed as its head by presidential decree later the same day.

Turkmenistan's president is Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's son Serdar Berdymukhammedov, who was handed the post by his father last year. Also on January 21, Serdar Berdymukhammedov signed a law granting his father the title of "national leader of the Turkmen people."

The People's Council will now be separate from parliament and will be the "supreme power" in supervising all branches of rule with the right to change the constitution, adopt constitutional laws, and determine domestic and foreign policies.

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Members of the council are not elected and it consists of officials, regional representatives, and prominent members of unions and public organizations. The makeup of the remaining house in parliament is scheduled to be determined in an election on January 26.

The reformation of the parliament structure to once again make it a unicameral organ is apparently aimed at making Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov the paramount leader of the tightly controlled former Soviet republic.

In September 2020, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov, who was president from 2006 to 2022, turned the single-chamber parliament into a bicameral legislature by announcing the creation of the new upper house, the People's Council, and proclaiming himself as its chairman even though the constitution did not allow presidents to lead such a body.

Critics have said Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov's moves were made to secure his lifetime leadership and the eventual succession of the presidency to his son, Serdar, and his grandchildren.

Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov has also been accused of suppressing dissent during his presidency, and critics have seen few changes since Serdar Berdymukhammedov was sworn in as president in March last year.

With reporting by AP