The city council in Chernihiv region has found itself at the center of a scandal due to a peculiar procurement that has sparked a wave of discussions. According to the portal zakupivli.pro, the local utility company "Teplokomunenergo" plans to spend over 102,000 hryvnias on perfumes, hygiene products, and condoms.
As per the tender documentation, the company intends to purchase 5,260 bars of 72% household soap. The price of one bar of soap has been set at 19.45 hryvnias, while it can be easily bought on the market for 11–13 hryvnias. At first glance, the price difference may seem insignificant, but when multiplied by the quantity, it means that the community's budget will spend nearly 40,000 hryvnias more than necessary.
The documents indicate that the soap will be used in the administrative buildings of the city council until the end of 2025. Dividing the total quantity over this period suggests that approximately 14 bars of soap should be used daily. Even in clean administrative spaces, this seems excessive.
However, the naming of the procurement has attracted even more attention. Why was household soap referred to as condoms? Such terminological confusion has raised more questions than answers.
Residents of Chernihiv, upon learning about the tender, are actively discussing the situation on social media. Some speculate that it is simply a mistake in the documentation, while others suspect that there may be more serious schemes hidden behind this hygiene procurement.
"Why not just buy soap at a reasonable price? Or is this soap 'special,' made from a unique material?" – one local resident sarcastically remarks.
"If the tender already looks this strange, what’s next? Are we going to see 'hand cream (socks)' or 'shampoo (tap water)?'"
If soap were purchased at the average market price (13 hryvnias per bar), the city budget could save around 40,000 hryvnias. These funds could be utilized for more urgent needs of the city, such as infrastructure repairs or support for social programs.