MINSK, 30 January (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has authorized the appointment of new executives to run the white goods manufacturer Atlant and the heavy vehicles manufacturer MZKT, BelTA has learned.
Dmitry Sokolovsky was appointed Director General of ZAO Atlant, Director of Minsk Refrigerator Plant. At present he works as Atlant Deputy Director General for Corporate Development and Finance.
Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted: “Atlant has been worrying me for quite some time. When I received reports your finances are not so good (and you deal with finance), I understood that something needs to be done. I want you to understand that Atlant is a state-owned company regardless of whoever buys the stock.”
The president remarked that he rides past ZAO Atlant on the way to the Palace of Independence and when he does so, he always recalls all the shortcomings of the company. “I am going to visit Atlant. I've told the previous director so. We will see how you work,” the head of state warned. In his words, he will not tolerate talks that the company cannot resolve its problems due to tough competition on the market because the entire real sector in Belarus works in these conditions. “We could compete one way or another in the past but some people give up now, including Atlant,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded. “Think about ways of recovering from the current situation.”
The MZKT's current Deputy Chief Engineer for Preproduction Aleksei Rimashevsky was elevated to the position of the MZKT Director General.
Aleksandr Lukashenko admitted that MZKT is one of his favorite companies. In the past the company acted fast to fulfill the president's instructions and create the vehicles the Belarusian army needed. At present MZKT products enjoy a solid demand on international markets. “So, the potential and the competences of your people are very high. I would like you to keep it that way,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “I would not want you to suggest the company should be privatized, including with assistance of foreigners, regardless of wherever they come from – the East or the West.”
The head of state stressed that the company should keep working. He said he hopes that the new director, who had worked for the company for a long time, will endeavor to do it. “Just like in Belarus today: some want to make the country dependent or surrender in some way. We don't want that,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “This is why I hope you understand that the company should be preserved.”
In his words, MZKT has learned how to compete on international markets and now makes products that only two or three other countries in the world can make. “We should keep up with the competition. Our products should be better than someone else's. Then they will sell,” Aleksandr Lukashenko is convinced. “You can see what kind of a war for energy resources is going on. Because times are like that. This is why one has to learn to be frugal and stay within the budget.”
