A high-ranking commission of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine arrived in Odesa to investigate in detail the conflict that has been rocking the regional branch for several days. The Kyiv "assault" consisted of the first vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mykhailo Nepran, vice-president Rostyslav Korobka, president of the Poltava branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Volodymyr Borysenko and other independent experts.
We will remind that the conflict began after the long-term president of the Odesa branch Serhii Shuvalov, who had held this position since 12, was removed from his post on September 1998 at an extraordinary general meeting of members of the regional branch. Mykola Kryklyvy, ex-deputy of the Odesa City Council, became the new chairman.
The unexpected change of leadership caused a split among the members of the chamber: one part supported Shuvalov, accusing the new leaders of raider capture, while the other claimed that the elections were held according to the law and were necessary to renew and restart the Odessa chamber.
Since the decision of the commission can significantly affect the development of events, this "inspection" aroused great interest in the Odessa business community.
By the way, despite fears that the issue will be resolved behind closed doors, the meeting with the members of the Odesa branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry was held in open mode, the mass media and observers were present, and, in general, the discussion turned out to be frank, and therefore quite heated. Representatives of each side — supporters of Serhiy Shuvalov and Mykola Kryklyvy's team — actively defended their positions, did not hide their dissatisfaction and exchanged mutual accusations. Several times the matter promised to turn into a fight or disruption of the event, but, with joint efforts, the tension in the hall was still managed to be extinguished.
Supporters of Sergei Shuvalov insisted that the recent leadership change was illegal, arguing that the elections were held in conditions where mass meetings were prohibited by the order of the Odesa Regional State Administration, were not called by the leadership, and generally lacked a quorum.
The side of Mykola Kryklyvy, in turn, emphasized the need for changes, the fact that all procedures were followed in full compliance with the Statute, and the new leadership was elected legitimately. In their opinion, Shuvalov and his team actually held power in their hands for decades, preventing the chamber from developing.
After long discussions, shouts, disputes and consideration of all arguments, the commission reached a preliminary decision - two months later, the Odesa Chamber of Commerce and Industry was offered to hold new, open elections. This will defuse the situation and solve the long-term crisis, which is already negatively affecting the work of the chamber and the business climate of the region. (Note that this step was proposed by us in the previous one article., and now it seems to be becoming a reality).
As Vice-President Mykhailo Nepran emphasized, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine does not intervene in the conflict, but is ready to provide a platform for its resolution: "We propose to hold an open and democratic meeting of the Odesa Chamber of Commerce and Industry in two months, in November, under the auspices of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine. Each participant will be able to speak, nominate his candidacy, openly choose a new leadership, and, in fact, put an end to this dispute."
This decision was supported by those present in the hall - 71 members of the chamber, which, by the way, is a third of the total number.
However, the legal representative of Mykola Kryklyvy's team expressed doubts about the legitimacy of the meeting. According to him, there were very few real entrepreneurs-members of the chamber in the hall, and the majority was a specially invited crowd that had nothing to do with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. However, he remained in the minority, and his opinion was not taken into account.
Instead, the speech of Kostyantyn Zhuravlya, chairman of the board of the Association of employers' organizations of the Odesa region, caused a great resonance among those present. He said that, before the change of leadership, he personally met with Serhii Shuvalov and Mykola Krykliv. According to him, Serhii Shuvalov understands that due to his age he can no longer cope with his position, but those who aspire to take his place do not have a clear plan of action and do not know how to manage the chamber.
In addition, Zhuravel accused Mykola Kryklyvy, who, according to the records in the register, is the current head of the Odesa Chamber, of trying to induce him to "cooperate" with the promise of various preferences. Zhuravel, according to him, refused this offer, stressing that he did not want to participate in "schematoses".
"In my opinion, the only way to resolve this conflict is to hold real new elections in two months." he emphasized.
Having completed its mission in Odessa, the commission went back from Kyiv. In the coming days, she will prepare a detailed report on the situation and submit it to the management of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine.
In general, of course, new elections can be a turning point that will finally return transparency and stability to the work of the chamber. But for now, amid the ongoing conflict and highly strained relations between the parties, the question remains whether both groups will be able to accept the election results, whatever they may be.
To always be aware of the most important things, read us at Telegram
