The Presidential Property Department has announced that state property auctions will begin in spring 2015. The list of objects to be auctioned is incomplete as of now, but we already know that auction lots will include presidential city residences and country houses as well as commercial properties. The auction list should be completed by the end of December. It will then be sent to the State Property Fund, which will deal with the assessment of lots and hold the auctions themselves.
Let us recall that the then acting president of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov issued a decree ordering privatization of most of the department’s property on March 24. It provides for transferring to private ownership most presidential and high officials’ residences, resorts Koncha Zaspa and Pushcha Vodytsia, state-owned country houses in the Carpathians, vehicles and companies managed by the Presidential Property Department.
Oleksandr RIABCHENKO, expert on state property:
“The Presidential Property Department has traditionally managed many properties. The list changed with changes in the presidential office, but it is quite long now. From time to time, some properties are transferred to the State Property Fund for privatization. The fact that they want to hold an auction now is not surprising. Every president has their own opinion about what they need to effectively carry out their functions. Regarding past sales, I do not remember any residence being sold before, but some companies were. The property which is not directly related to supporting the presidential office, but is managed by the department, surely must be removed from its control. If I am not mistaken, the department once managed a large distillery and a hotel which have been transferred to the appropriate agency for privatization. It will be an interesting and effective sale. It is clear that these properties have nothing to do with the presidential office’s needs, and they came to be managed by the department for some other reasons. The best thing to do with them is to privatize them. The budget lacks revenues to support these properties.
“The residences are a rather special case, for their privatization depends on which of them the president’s team sees as necessary for the head of state to discharge the duties of his office. Considerations of the president’s need to rest should play no role in this process, as he has no time for resting in the current environment. However, the need to hold high-level meetings should definitely be taken into account.
“I am not sure that residences will be sold easily and at high prices, we must see at least one sale to understand what these properties are like and whether anyone is willing to purchase them.”
