Belarus PM about economic situation: Much worse than we expected


The external factors taken into account in the 2016 economic outlook forecast have turned out to be much worse than the Belarusian government expected, rime Minister Andrey Kabyakou said on Monday.

„Unfortunately, the external factors that were included in the 2016 economic forecast turned out to be much worse than we could imagine. But we did not make the forecast from scratch –it was based on the figures provided by international financial organizations,” Mr Kabyakou told state-run TV station Belarus 1. 

According to the minister, as in  Q1 2016 the country’s GDP fell  by 3.6% and the government has to take certain steps in order to consolidate the budget. There were proposals to initiate a number of austerity measure, but president Lukashenka stood up against the initiative, Kabyakou stressed.

The Prime Minister also warned ‘inefficient and loss-making enterprises’ against asking for state support  support and urged them to adjust to new realities. The prime minister recommended the enterprises to do their best to reduce the prime cost for their products.

“Many people think that we will give money after we stop talking. Then they will live large, spend the money, and hope that we will give more. This will never happen,” state-run news agency BelTA Andrey Kabyakou as saying.

belsat.eu

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