MINSK, 20 October (BelTA) – The trade industry has to bear in mind the government's requirements in the course of doing business. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement during a government conference held in the Palace of Independence, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “I see you are being subjected to huge pressure and attempts to contact me are already being made. They say we have paused the economy. What economy have we paused? I will pause you afterwards. They need to clearly understand: if you want to work in trade industry, you are welcome to. We've helped you by giving land, loans to build enterprises, you've hired people, you are responsible for them first and foremost. Feel free to work. These are the rules. We don't want you to incur losses because it will be harmful for us. But if you don't understand state requirements, then, man, we have different roads to travel.”
The head of state explained that representatives of the trade industry are quite law-abiding and smoothly fulfill all the instructions. “If things are bad over there, it is up to us, it means we've let them relax too much. It means the teams are wrong over there. Those foreign ‘burghers' already make phone calls and give orders: ‘Look, the president did not make these decisions'. They are already starting to instigate shop assistants against the authorities. The authorities have been given the relevant orders. I emphasize once again: freezing [prices] and sitting around only to blame someone else later on is not the idea. No. We have to take it under control,” he said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also reminded about cases when a standard product is disguised as a new one in order to inflate the price. “A new product needs to offer new consumer qualities,” he stressed.
“You see, they are wailing we've made the wrong decision! There can be no retreat. But if god forbid, some curtailed, incomprehensible decision is made in a lazy way. You are primarily responsible for it in the government. The instructions you give to oblast governors, members of the parliament, trade unions, and senators will be implemented,” Aleksandr Lukashenko warned First Deputy Prime Minister Nikolai Snopkov.
