Kuleba’s Ministry of Development has distanced itself from personnel decisions regarding the management of Ukrzaliznytsia
16 March 15:08
A person under investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation has been appointed to the board of Ukrzaliznytsia
The Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine was unable to explain its personnel policy regarding the leadership of Ukrzaliznytsia and stated that it lacks the authority to make decisions regarding the appointment or dismissal of members of the joint-stock company’s board. However, according to Ukrzaliznytsia’s Articles of Association, it is the Cabinet of Ministers that ultimately approves the composition of the company’s board. This is stated in the ministry’s response to a request from the publication
In its response, the ministry specifically refers to the Charter of Ukrzaliznytsia, approved by the government.
“According to paragraph 26 of the Charter of JSC ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’… the founder of JSC ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’ is the state, represented by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, and the management of the state’s corporate rights regarding JSC ‘Ukrzaliznytsia’ is exercised by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,” the ministry noted.
At the same time, key personnel decisions regarding the management board are made not by the relevant ministry, but by the company’s supervisory board.
“In accordance with Article 71 of the Charter, the exclusive authority of the supervisory board includes the election and termination of the powers of board members, in particular upon the proposals (submission) of the chairman of the board,” the ministry noted.
Separately, the Ministry of Community Development did note that “the number and composition of the board are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine,” but effectively distanced itself from specific comments regarding the currently appointed composition of the UZ board.
“Given the above, the election and termination of the powers of members of the board of the joint-stock company ‘Ukrainian Railways’ does not fall within the competence of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine,” the response states.
As a reminder, on December 30 of last year, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the composition of the UZ board, which includes: Oleksandr Semenovych Pertsovskyi – chairman of the board; Lidiia Volodymyrivna Hrytsenko, Mykola Ivanovych Ivanin, Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Nosulko, Roman Romanovych Chernitskyi, and Yevhen Serhiiovych Shramko – members of the board.
At the same time, the contracts of the board members were concluded for different terms: some board members received six-month contracts, while others received three-year contracts.
In its inquiry, the editorial board asked the government to explain the basis for determining the different contract terms, as well as why exactly such decisions were approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. A separate issue concerned board member Roman Chernitsky, who, according to an official statement from the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), has the status of a suspect in criminal proceedings. According to the investigation, he may be involved in embezzlement amounting to over 31 million hryvnias—while serving as head of the “Lviv Railway” regional branch.
The inquiry also raised the question of whether the Cabinet of Ministers had verified this information about the candidate for a leadership position at Ukrainian Railways before approving the board’s composition, and if so, whether this means that individuals involved in criminal proceedings can meet the selection criteria for board members of a state-owned company.
In its response, however, the Ministry of Development left these questions unanswered. The ministry responsible for UZ’s personnel policy, headed by Oleksiy Kuleba, shifted all responsibility for personnel policy to the members of the supervisory board.
As reported by
We also note that, according to the publication UP, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko is dissatisfied with the work of Deputy Prime Minister for Recovery Oleksiy Kuleba and is considering replacing him.
