MINSK, 15 February (BelTA) – The government will carry out diagnostics of the largest state-run companies. It is necessary to decide the fate of the ineffective ones in 2019. First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Alexander Turchin made the statement at the session of the Belarusian Economy Ministry board on 15 February, BelTA has learned.
Alexander Turchin said: “The problem of effectiveness of the state sector is the key problem today. We are now working on arranging diagnostics of our largest enterprises. In order to understand who works after state support has been granted and who needs some help to start working well. And to find the enterprises, which will not work due to various reasons regardless of whether help is available or not. The question of what we should do with those is the most complicated one.”
In his opinion, there are not that many enterprises of the third type, which generate the bulk of the fiscal risks – about 30. “This year the Council of Ministers together with the Economy Ministry, industry-specific ministries will have to decide on prospects of what can be done with these enterprises,” said the first deputy prime minister.
Alexander Turchin also spoke about state support for enterprises. He underlined that the government has no intention of granting more money to troubled enterprises. State support can be granted only in the form of debt restructuring.
The government also intends to stimulate economic growth in the regions. “Stratification of economic activity and living standards between regions is a threat. Unfortunately, there are districts where subsidies represent 80% of the budget revenues while 20% of the proprietary revenue comes as income tax on public sector organizations. We can't expect much economic activity in these regions,” the official stated.
Speaking about support for the private sector, Alexander Turchin said that a lot has already been done. A regulatory act on licensing will be submitted for consideration of the head of state soon. The document is nearly ready. A number of other regulations, including a draft presidential decree to supplement the Tax Code, are in the pipeline as well. Abolishing Belarus president decree No.488 (the so-called pseudo-entrepreneurship decree) is one of its provisions.
