DOT plans to change terms of contract with food suppliers for the Armed Forces
24 October 2024 22:08
The State Logistics Operator (DOT) wants to amend state contracts with suppliers of military supplies. Arsen Zhumadilov, Director General of the State Logistics Operator, said this in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, [Komersant] reports.
Zhumadilov mentioned several cases in his interview with journalists. In particular, the incident when disposable needles were found in chicken for the military. Apparently, they were used to pump water into the meat and thus change its weight.
“This entire batch of meat has been recalled, and the manufacturer will be investigated. As for the overall water content in meat, this is a regulatory issue. We are currently resolving it. If suppliers violate this, we will hold them accountable,” assured the DOT director general.
He also complained that suppliers currently face only up to a 20% fine for such actions.
“(The fine – ed.) is 20% for the supply of low-quality products or when they are supplied without supporting documents, including quality certificates. We have now initiated a change to make it 100% of the value of the goods,” Zhumadilov explained.
He also shared with journalists that, along with solving this problem, the DOT is working on the further implementation of the DOT-Chain electronic system. This is when the entire supply chain – from the unit’s application to the arrival of the goods – is digitised.
“This programme has already been put into operation. We will implement not only supply but also quality control. Let me remind you that a year ago, both delivery and quality control were purely in analogue format, paper-based,” Zhumadilov said.
DOT-Chain users will not need to run around with papers, looking for a foreman to sign everything. For the supplier, payment for goods through DOT-Chain will also be much faster.
It should be noted that the State Logistics Operator is an agency that is supposed to be “guided by the principles of human centredness and integrity” when providing logistics support to the army. It was created after high-profile corruption scandals in public procurement for the Armed Forces and numerous stories about how the military was supplied with goods of inadequate quality.
