MINSK, 23 July (BelTA) - The funds earmarked to support the economy amid the pandemic have not been exhausted yet, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko told reporters, BelTA has learned.
“The fact that we have not utilized the funds fully shows that the situation is normal. There is no crisis,” the head of government stressed.
According to him, the president was briefed on the situation with the measures to support the economy. “About Br0.5 billion was spent on aid and support measures. These include allowances, benefits, installments, and rental holidays. The funds designated from the budget have not been utilized fully. In terms of some positions, the underutilization stands at about 50%. This means that before we fully understood the depth of the crisis we had planned more funds than we actually used,” the prime minister noted.
He stressed that Belarus did not follow suit of some countries which actually handed out money. “There was no need for that. The economy kept running. Those who could not pay salaries to their workers got the support from the budget. In general, there was no big burden on the budget because the economy did not stop working,” said the prime minister.
The largest amount of funds was used to provide bonuses mainly for medical workers. Businesses were also in the focus. There is still a special group in the government that promptly considers issues related to loan support for enterprises in difficult conditions. “Soft loans under the guarantees of the government and local budgets are allocated for those who use this money to survive temporary difficulties, to make products, sell them and pay off these loans,” the head of government said.