Barys Zhaliba: Lukashenka Gives Carbon-Copy Orders To Government

The Belarusian ruler does not intend to save the country's economy.

Doctor of Economic Sciences Barys Zhaliba says in the commentary to Salidarnasts how to save the country's economy and why it will not be done.

On September 4th, the dictator held a meeting with the government on "topical issues of economic development".

- It is clear to everyone that the elaboration of plans for the "country's future development" takes place in the last months, in the fourth quarter of any year. First of all, it is the planning for next year. It is about the production, and in general, the whole of our life. I have repeatedly said that this year and next year are special years - the years of "parliamentary" and "presidential elections". We are passing an exam. That's why we have to tighten up everywhere," - the press service quotes Aliaksandr Lukashenka.

The main tasks and challenges faced by the authorities are diversification of sales markets and high dependence on the supply of products to Russia.

Barys Zhaliba shared his opinion on what exactly should be planned for the next year to improve the economic situation in the country.

- Recipes have been known for a long time. Earlier, our main creditors - the IMF, the World Bank - drew up an activities plan for Belarus. Now it is at the second stage, when the representatives of the World Bank are working with our government, specifying its provisions, - the expert said.

First of all, we are talking about reforming the public sector. But according to the economist, the government has not even started to deal with this issue yet.

- It is already known what exactly should be done with the enterprises belonging to the public sector. If it is not the overall privatization, then, as a minimum, they are divided into three main groups: the first group - companies that can operate independently, the second group - companies that need state support, the third one - companies that should be simply closed down. This is not the first year that we have been talking about it, but it all ends with these talks," - the expert stressed.

According to him, as long as the majority of state-owned enterprises live in debt, giving up to a half of their revenue to creditors, there is no point in talking about any investments:

- As for the diversification of sales markets, the optimal formula is known here as well: one third of the export volume to the markets of Russia, one third of it - to the EU, and one third - to the countries of the distant arc. But as before, Russia accounts for about 50% of our trade turnover, and the share of the European Union has even decreased.

According to Barys Zhaliba, the ruler did not show anything new in the distribution of tasks to the government:

- Everything is being done as if it were carbon copied. It is not the government's fault. The government can act only with the permission of Lukashenka. And the government does not have such a permission (to carry out reforms). And it operates within the limits that do not allow it to push the GDP in the direction of further growth.