The appointment of Volodymyr Zhmak as the head of Ukrzaliznytsia caused a mixed reaction in society. In fact, he has not worked a single day in his career at the railroad. However, he managed to work as Mikheil Saakashvili's first deputy when he was governor of Odesa region, worked in oil companies and is now a member of the Supervisory Board of Boryspil Airport. VoiceUA asked Viktor Medved, director of the William Invest Expert consulting company, what will this appointment lead to and what to expect from the new head of Ukrzaliznytsia.
-Victor, what do you think of the appointment of Volodymyr Zhmak as the new head of Ukrzaliznytsia?
- The appointment of Volodymyr Zhmak as head of Ukrazaliznytsia is clearly irrational. However, the Ukrainian government's policy is irrational in general. If we look at the railroad, the entire Supervisory Board, which appointed the previous candidate for approval by the Cabinet of Ministers, has only one specialist in this field out of seven people - all the others are people who have nothing to do with the railroad.
- Who benefited from this appointment?
- Zhmak's appointment can only be described as lobbying for the interests of those who "pushed" him into this position. He was delegated and will certainly fulfill the tasks assigned to him. This is in no way the Cabinet of Ministers or the Supervisory Board, but the people behind his appointment, who are now associated with Minister Krykliy.
- What will change at Ukrzaliznytsia with Zhmak's arrival?
- After his appointment, we will not see a qualified approach to the development of the railroad. Because where can a person get qualifications if he or she is only familiarizing himself or herself with the subject? This means that an enterprise worth hundreds of billions of hryvnias will be handed over to a newcomer, or rather, an intern for an experiment.
- Does this mean future losses?
- Yes, we will suffer billions in losses due to the inefficiency of the railroad, including the lack of proper management and decision-making. Decision-making involves billions in ongoing operations, and any mistake by an intern will cause billions in losses.
- Who will be responsible for his mistakes?
- As usual, no one will bear responsibility for inefficient activities, because it is not provided for by law. There is liability only for criminal offenses. If a person does not know how to manage this, how can he or she manage? No way.
There are many specialists at Ukrzaliznytsia who have been working there for many years. But if nothing depends on these people, their positions may be eliminated. And if it does, then the question is whether Zhmak will respond to their comments, because accepting proposals requires qualifications, and he is not a specialist.
- If you compare the appointment of Polish rocker Wojciech Balczun as chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia in 2016 with the appointment of Volodymyr Zhmak, are they similar in some ways or not?
- Both appointments are absolutely identical in terms of incompetent people being appointed under different pretexts, and it is not known who is more incompetent. The issue is different: companies value people who have relevant experience, either directly in the entity in question or in some related industries.
For example, if Zhmak worked for a company that was related to engineering in the railroad industry or supported some projects, it would be another matter, but in his case, there is nothing related.
- But he managed to work as Saakashvili's first deputy...
- This issue should not be politicized, because politicians have one set of criteria and experts have another. After all, we want to see concrete results from the railroad. Of course, there are general aspects of the work that he will be able to understand. In medicine, there is a good analogy in this regard: there is a general practitioner, but when you want to solve a specific problem, you go to an ear, nose and throat specialist, if you have broken something, you go to a surgeon or traumatologist, but do not go to a general practitioner, because he will not solve a specific problem for you.
In the case of Zhmak, he could have been appointed deputy director of some issue or area or narrow direction in which he has competence, and that would have been the right thing to do. In the case of Ukrzaliznytsia, there are only a few such companies in Ukraine, and normal transparent competitions should have been held for such positions, and the competition that was held can be called a pure fiction with unclear requirements and notifications.
- Why did the Cabinet of Ministers hire a foreign company to hold this competition?
- This is also a fiction, because hiring foreign companies means that they will act in accordance with the criteria that have been given to them. They are paid money, but they are also given tasks, and they have to select the right specialist based on the criteria that have been set for them. If they select in a way that is not exactly what the customer wants, they will not be hired again, so they are initially dependent players in this matter.
- In general, how would you assess Zhmak's appointment?
- I see it as a lobbyist appointment not to improve the state of the railroad, but to fulfill private objectives.
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