Categories: UKRAINE

The general director of Okhmatdyt, Zhovnir, has been suspended from his duties until the completion of investigations, Liashko says

The general director of the National Specialized Children’s Hospital “Okhmatdyt,” Volodymyr Zhovnir, has been suspended from his duties following the scandal with the charity fund.

According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the head of the Ministry of Health, Viktor Liashko.

“The general director of National Specialized Children’s Hospital ‘Okhmatdyt,’ Volodymyr Zhovnir, has been suspended from his duties until the completion of investigations by the National Police of Ukraine, other law enforcement agencies, and the Ministry of Health commission,” Liashko wrote.

The head of the Ministry of Health noted that the facts related to the restoration of Okhmatdyt’s buildings and the actions of the Charitable Organization ‘Charity Fund Okhmatdyt – Healthy Childhood’ are being investigated by the National Police. Additionally, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is conducting analytical work, and an internal investigation by the Ministry of Health is also ongoing.

“All circumstances must be established. All those responsible must be punished. The hospital must be rebuilt. Everything must be done clearly, transparently, quickly, and in accordance with the law,” Liashko emphasized.

Liashko noted that on August 16, he received the first results from the Ministry of Health’s commission investigation. Unfortunately, there are instances of distortion of key information, which is officially presented to him, reported in the media, and contained in documents, both from the hospital’s management and from the fund.

The facts known as of today indicate the following:

Two working bodies were involved in the evaluation of the bids submitted during the tender process: the working group of Okhmatdyt, approved by the order of the general director of Okhmatdyt No. 142 dated July 18, 2024, and the general meeting of the fund.

On July 25, during the next meeting of the Okhmatdyt working group, the participants decided on the need to request additional information from the fund about the participating companies.

Decisions on behalf of the Charitable Organization “Charity Fund Okhmatdyt – Healthy Childhood,” as recorded in the minutes, were made at the general meetings of the participants:

▪️ Yurii Horbunov

▪️ Solomiia Vitvitska

▪️ Olena Prymak

▪️ Yevhen Vember

▪️ Svitlana Rozborska

On July 31, the general meeting of the fund provided a recommendation to Okhmatdyt to sign a contract for the repair work of the damaged modern building with a previously known company, which was documented in the minutes.

The decision to announce the company as the tender winner was made by the general director of “Okhmatdyt,” Volodymyr Zhovnir, and the public was informed about this on the hospital’s official page.

However, according to the information revealed during the Ministry of Health’s investigation, the corresponding recommendations for the final selection of the winner from Okhmatdyt’s working group were not received. Why? This question remains open and will be investigated by the relevant authorities.

I would like to separately note that it was the hospital director who suggested collecting funds specifically into the fund’s account after the attack on Okhmatdyt on July 8, citing the successful history of collaboration.

“All further processes for the restoration of Okhmatdyt will take place under the supervision of the Restoration Council, which already includes representatives of international organizations and companies that made the largest donations. Today, a meeting will be held to select 7 participants from the public, so the council will be fully formed with 15 members,” Liashko assured.

Liashko invited the Restoration Council to convene on August 19 to review the phased plan for Okhmatdyt’s restoration and also invited participants of the fund’s general meeting to attend.

Scandal with Okhmatdyt’s сharity Fund

Previously, Okhmatdyt’s director, Volodymyr Zhovnir, stated that the charity fund “Okhmatdyt – Healthy Childhood” does not plan to transfer 378 million hryvnias, collected after the July 8 attack, to the hospital’s account.

The charitable organization reported that on August 15, a general meeting of the organization’s participants was held on this issue. The fund added that they are ready to cover “any urgent needs of the hospital,” such as medical equipment or the restoration of buildings damaged by the Russian attack. However, they noted that “they have not received any letters from Okhmatdyt hospital regarding such specific needs.”

Lesia Karpenko