The need to reform the food procurement and supply system is long overdue. As military expert Serhiy Zgurets said in a commentary to UNN, the current leadership of the Ministry of Defense faces many challenges in this area. He also pointed out the problematic areas of the existing system.
In fact, the main reservations concerned overpayments for certain groups of goods (...) There are 406 items in the catalog, these items generally cover all the needs of the military. But the issue is that suppliers sometimes overpriced some items, underpriced others, and offered package deals for units of the Armed Forces. Some items were purchased very cheaply, and some were expensive. Red fish, relatively speaking, were very cheap, because no one actually bought them there, and in total, the total cost of such a set for delivery to the troops looked quite acceptable. But this was the scheme that led to the 17 eggs
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According to him, another area for abuse is the scheme of food delivery by a supplier to a military unit, which involves a lot of money.
"This was another area for abuse, which is now changing due to the fact that the decision on the logistics of food to military units is changing. These two factors are the most noticeable," Zgurets said.
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The expert believes that these issues have now begun to be resolved, but the process is difficult and lengthy. According to Zgurts, the current Defense Minister Rustem Umerov demonstrates a desire to understand the intricacies of the system, sees that it is not optimal and changes approaches. However, he notes that in general, procurement is still based on the old rules, and at the same time, the creation of the Logistics Support Agency gives hope for change.
"It is too early to draw conclusions," the expert adds.
Read more about the reform of procurement and supply of food to the military in the article by UNN Satiety, sustainability and unification: what should be the reform of army food supply and whether Umerov will cope with it.