EP has compiled the most important information about the new head of Ukravtodor, his political career, transport achievements, and the corruption scandals that erased Sławomir Nowak's name from Polish political life, reports Economic truth.
Personnel changes at Ukravtodor usually don't cause much of a stir. Over the past three years, the agency's leadership has changed so often that anyone could easily lose count.
But the latest appointments cannot be ignored. This is because the new head of Ukravtodor will be a Pole—former Polish Minister of Transport Sławomir Nowak.
The new head of Ukravtodor resigned after a scandal involving undeclared hours—this is the first Ukrainians have learned about the new Polish manager.
This situation may seem "bizarre" to the average Ukrainian, but Novak left his ministerial post because he failed to declare a Swiss Ulysse Nardin chronometer worth $5,5 in his asset declaration.
That is, in comparison with the Ukrainian bureaucratic world, which is doing everything it can to stop or at least delay the launch of e-declarations, Novak is practically an angel.
But that's far from all there is to know about the man who will be responsible for Ukraine's "off-road" situation.
EP has compiled the most important information about the new head of Ukravtodor, his political career, transportation achievements, and the corruption scandals that erased Sławomir Nowak's name from Polish political life.
Minister of Transport
Nowak served as Minister of Transport, Construction and Maritime Economy of Poland from 2011 to 2013 in the government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
From 2007 to 2009, Nowak served as Secretary of State in the Prime Minister's Office and Chairman of the Political Cabinet under Prime Minister Tusk. From 2009 to 2010, he was Vice President of the Civic Platform parliamentary faction.
From 2010 to 2011 – State Secretary in the Presidential Office for contacts with the government and parliament.
Nowak is 42 years old and, unlike another Pole, Ukrzaliznytsia CEO Wojciech Balczun, he speaks Russian. He has promised to learn Ukrainian.
Presenting his work plan at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the new head of Ukravtodor promised to undertake a large-scale reconstruction of Ukrainian roads and infrastructure. He intends to present a road reconstruction plan for the next five years in the near future.
"I feel like something of an expert in this field, and I think my experience and skills will help us build a well-thought-out infrastructure together with you... I'll note immodestly that I also deserve credit for the civilizational leap Poland has made in recent years," he said during the presentation.
Describing his achievements, Novak emphasized that he was responsible for an annual budget of 8-10 billion euros and prepared a national road construction plan for 2015-2023.
The Polish official was also responsible for preparations for Euro 2012, transport plans, and investments in railways, roads, and airports. Nowak counts among his achievements the reform of rail transport, which he considers fundamental, and the completion of the autobahn between Warsaw and Berlin.
“All investments in Poland are my investments,” was another indiscreet remark Nowak made at the presentation.
According to OmelyanaNovak received the Polish highway system in the same condition as the Ukrainian road system is currently in.
"Complete state control, state-owned companies that are completely ineffective, debt of approximately over 40 billion zlotys, a complete lack of understanding of what, how, and what to do," the minister noted.
According to Omelyan, Nowak was able to decentralize Poland's roads, build a proper multi-level system from the city to the national level, attract external funds, and sell off everything unnecessary.
Who in Poland was not happy with Nowak?
Not everything was smooth sailing in his work in Poland. He was responsible for a large-scale strike in early 2013, sparked by a decision to cut benefits for industry workers and retired railway workers.
The ministry's decision to increase the number of speed cameras on Polish roads also met with strong resistance from the then-opposition parties Law and Justice and United Poland, which had drafted a bill to reduce the number of cameras.
As a result, a compromise was reached by drafting a bill that would transfer the proceeds from traffic fines to the Road Fund.
Under Nowak, Poland also nearly ran out of road construction funds allocated by the European Commission, earmarked for the country under aid programs in the current EU budget. At the time, the EU subsidies amounted to €4 billion.
According to Polish media, about a dozen managers and one of the directors of GDDKiA agreed among themselves on who would win which tender, so that everyone would receive their orders and earn money. As a result, €800 million was frozen at the end of 2012.
Scandals, intrigues, investigations
Novak left his ministerial post after the prosecutor's office requested that his parliamentary immunity be revoked due to the politician's failure to declare a Swiss chronometer from Ulysse Nardin in his asset declaration.
Polish law requires officials to declare all assets worth more than 10,000 zlotys, or approximately $3,500. The watch seen on Nowak's wrist is estimated to be worth $5,500.
According to Poland's criminal code, the official faced up to three years in prison for providing false information in his asset declaration.
However, following an appeal on May 27, 2015, the Regional Court in Warsaw reversed this decision and the criminal case against Nowak was dropped.
"The former heads of Ukravtodor and regional road authorities own estates, expensive cars, and so on. None of them are in prison, and none of them lost their jobs due to scandal. The scandal in Poland ended with Sławomir Nowak's resignation. In Ukrainian reality, this story is simply unbelievable. It's closed for now," Omelyan told EP.
The second scandal in which Novak was involved was his conversations with tax authorities regarding an audit of his wife's accounts.
Recordings of conversations between Nowak and other Polish politicians were published in the media sometime in June 2014. According to the released recordings, several weeks before his resignation, Nowak spoke with the former head of the Ministry of Finance's tax audit department, Andrzej Parafianowicz.
In this conversation, the Minister of Transport questioned the tax official about the new audit of his wife's accounts. Parafyanovich responded by saying that "everything has already been blocked," meaning the audit.
Another source of criticism was the politicians' conversations about the 2005 elections, which were made available through the same recordings. Specifically, it revealed how the Civic Platform party came to power and the political methods it used to eliminate its competitors.
Novak's plans in Ukraine
At the Cabinet meeting, Novak announced the main objectives.
Firstly, the new head of Ukravtodor believes that the Road Fund needs to be improved and cooperation with international banks needs to be intensified.
Secondly, he hopes to quickly conduct a technical audit of roads and improve the technical standards of their construction.
According to him, Ukravtodor needs to develop a road construction and reconstruction plan, taking into account traffic, and introduce international standards for tenders and contracts.
"I want to invite large international companies to participate in tenders alongside Ukrainian businesses. A reconstruction plan for the next five years needs to be developed," Novak added.
Thirdly, Novak hopes to attract capital for the construction of concession roads.
People's deputies could create favorable conditions for Novak to achieve this if they vote for the infrastructure bills developed by the relevant ministry on November 3.
"If we create a Road Fund, resolve the issue of decentralizing Ukravtodor, introduce the FIDIC system, a draft resolution for which will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for approval this week, resolve the issue of weight control and cooperation with international financial organizations, then Novak will have a broad field of action," says Omelyan.
Fourthly, Novak will have to bring order to Ukravtodor and carry out decentralization.
"We're delegating not only funding but also authority. And, accordingly, of the 170 roads currently under state control, at least 120 must be transferred to the state. Novak's job is to initiate and complete this process," says Omelyan.
Novak's task will also be to find specialists on the ground to restore order in the regional offices of Ukravtodor.
Novak will do all this for a salary of 10-12 thousand hryvnias per month, which, compared to the million dollars a year that UZ head Wojciech Balczun earns, seems like a pittance.
"Novak's salary is a very sensitive issue. Currently, it's around 10-12 hryvnias, which is shocking to him. We must find a mechanism to ensure his salary is higher. I clearly understand all the corruption risks inherent in the position of head of Ukravtodor, so his salary must be reasonable and fixed," Omelyan noted.
Apparently, the minister has great confidence in the new acting head of Ukravtodor. According to Omelyan, he assumes full political responsibility should Novak fail in this position.
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