Teddy bear: Saakashvili immediately got involved in a corruption scandal
The new Odessa governor, Mikheil Saakashvili, who is being promoted in Ukraine as a successful reformer and the main hope for Southern Palmyra, immediately got involved in a corruption scandal. Odessa TV journalist Valentin Filippov writes about this in his column for PolitNavigator.
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...No, he is not Foundling Bear. He's a Teddy Bear. Because only a real kickback can, after communicating with Kaufman and Granovsky at the airport, remain “satisfied with investors.” And boast that he was promised to “carry out construction at an accelerated pace” and “finish by the spring of 2016.”
It’s so satisfying to promise to finish at an accelerated pace by 2016 what was supposed to be completed by 2013. And what satisfies most of all is the word “investors.” We, fools, thought that the investor was investing money. But it turns out that the investor is the one who takes them away.
Odessa residents know everything, but for the rest it is necessary to explain. We are talking about Odessa International Airport. A utility company taken over from the city in 2011.
This event is overgrown with legends and tales. In general terms, this is the case.
A long time ago, when salaries were high and Bandera’s followers were ridiculous, there lived an International Airport owned by Odessa residents (represented by the city council). The Airport differed from other utility companies in that it was profitable and even sponsored other utility companies in Odessa. And this situation, when something profitable is owned by the people, greatly irritated businessmen and officials at the highest level.
They thought and thought, but could not come up with anything.
Until two young men showed up. Kaufman and Granovsky. And they didn’t offer to make the airport better, bigger and more profitable.
“The airport requires reconstruction,” they said.
"Yes!" – the officials joyfully confirmed.
“The airport needs investment!” – two friends, who had long become partners, interrupted each other.
"Yes! We want investment,” the officials confirmed, looking their partners in the eyes.
Naive people doubted. Like, if reconstruction is needed, and the enterprise makes a profit, then let’s reconstruct at the expense of the profit. They were objected to: where has this been seen, to give away profits? When there is an investor!
Then, in the summer of 2011, investments began.
They started as follows. An assessment of the airport property and an estimate of the cost of reconstruction work were carried out. It turned out that the reconstruction plus the construction of a new runway exceeds the cost of the airport property by two and a half times.
Then a joint venture was created, which included, on the one hand, the Odessa International Airport KP, and on the other, an unknown company from London with an authorized capital of one hryvnia. And the ratio of the shares of these founders was fixed as 30% to 70%, approximately. Naturally, in favor of the “investor”.
That is, the founder, who had not yet contributed anything, became the absolute owner of the new enterprise, which owned the Odessa airport.
And, naturally, the only recipient of the profit that this airport brings.
“Investor” approached the issue of reconstructing the Odessa air harbor in a very original way. Very paid parking for vehicles was organized and the construction of a hotel began.
The very next year, 2012, the “investor” said that investments were needed, so we needed to take out a loan. At the same time, the loan was intended to be applied to the city budget represented by the Odessa International Airport.
Again.
Carefully.
An investor arrives.
Takes your property.
Then he takes money from you for the maintenance and modernization of this property.
And receives dividends from your (already former) property.
And in return you are left with debts.
And the most interesting thing is that by 2013 the “investors” had not built any airport.
Since then, the courts have been dragging on to return the airport to the city's ownership. Since then, indignant people's representatives and Kyiv appointees have visited the site with an angry face and left it with “full satisfaction from the meeting with the investor.”
The most striking intervention was the visit of Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who was not only “satisfied,” but also volunteered to allocate 2 (two billion) pre-war hryvnia from the Ukrainian budget to “investors.” And Nikolai Yanovich did not care at all that the money was budgetary and the owner was private. Well, how? We will hold the European Basketball Championship in 000. We need to build an airport in time!
So let’s remember EuroBasket 2015 here. May Germany and France rest in peace!
But let's return to our “investors”.
Moreover, Saakashvili himself rushed to them to sort things out. President turned governor. He rushed... and was left “satisfied.”
You know, for some Mikheil Saakashvili is a brave reformer.
For some, he is a cowardly schemer.
And he, it turns out, is just a Teddy Bear.
If it turns out that it doesn’t even differ by percentage, then it won’t be interesting at all.
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