Answering DailyUA correspondent’s questions and estimating state of affairs in the coal industry of Ukraine, People’s Deputy, Party of Regions parliamentary faction member, Minister of Coal Industry of the Opposition government Sergiy Tulub marked:

- All enterprises of the coal industry are juristically independent, with their own financial balance. There are 434 of them. There is the Main Control and Revision Office within the Ministry, which controls work of these enterprises. So, according to their data, embezzlements were revealed at the amount of 2.4 billion hryvnias. But if these are embezzlements, have you heard at least one name or instituted criminal proceedings?

We have analyzed these acts. 850 million is a peculation of the budget funds. It is the money which came to miners and was used by them, but in the book-keeping it was counted as another item. The budget is allocated at the beginning of a year. A plan is set for every enterprise, according to which money is appropriated. The breakage faces, say, were not put into operation in due time, and the volume of mining diminished. But people are to receive wages! For example, suppose 10 hryvnias are assigned for a ton of coal. Although this coal was not mined in time wages were given out anyway. And there are plenty of such violations. It is not the embezzlement but this money made up a grand total. Yulia Tymoshenko said that last year the equipment was purchased 4.6 times above a market price. But the present government buys this equipment by 50% more comparing to the previous year.

A program “Complete overhaul of mining equipment” was launched last year. 280 million hryvnias was appropriated in order to upgrade the engineering complex. There are 29 overhaul specialized plants in the public sector, which are falling into decay. In 2007 4,700 units of equipment under this program were repaired and returned in mines. The cost of equipment overhaul accounts for up to 40% from the cost of a new one. The efficiency of its usage is 80% comparing to a new one. Is it profitable? Certainly, it is. Owing to the program we created 3.5 thousand new jobs, wages rose.

This year 306 million hryvnias were assigned for the program, a tender was conducted, but state-owned factories were not admitted. Private companies won, some of them being at law with us due to their inappropriate attitude to mines. There were non-specialized companies among them which have got no license. And they are drawing this money now. It was at someone’s benefit to reject state-owned enterprises. How can it be deemed? The beginning of a corruption process.