Events

Three groups of disintermediation measures suggested to Belarus president

MINSK, 12 March (BelTA) – Three groups of measures to step up the fight against unnecessary middlemen were suggested to Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko by Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian People’s Congress Aleksandr Kosinets during the government conference held on 12 March to discuss measures to rule out unjustified and unscrupulous intermediation, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Kosinets had been previously instructed to study the relevant matters together with a group of specialists and submit proposals on improving the legislation. “Ministries and government agencies, oblast administrations have submitted proposals. We have systematized these proposals. We suggest implementing three groups of measures in addition to the current ones,” the official said.

The first group is legislative measures. Amending the legislation that regulates public procurement and procurement at one’s own expense by unifying and simplifying the procurement procedure is the most necessary step, Aleksandr Kosinets said.

The second group is organizational measures. Those includes the centralization of product purchases, the creation of a catalogue of goods listing the entire product range for the sake of procurement, and the creation of a registry of unfair intermediaries.

“We have some of it today. And the existing catalog is outdated,” Aleksandr Kosinets noted.

He suggested tapping into existing foreign experience and setting up a national procurement center under the Economy Ministry. The deputy chairman of the Belarusian People’s Congress believes that this agency will allow maintaining the existing catalog, regularly updating it, providing instructions, explaining approaches to procurement processes, overseeing the operation of corresponding digital platforms, and so on.

The third group is financial and economic measures. “The most important one is the development of a mechanism for manufacturers to sell goods to organizations with overdue debts. Including via deferred payments and payments by installment,” Aleksandr Kosinets said.

All the significant proposals have been summarized to draft a presidential decree. The document stipulates measures designed to fight unfair and unjustified intermediation.

“I’ve been asking you a lot and I warn you one more time: no unnecessary meetings! Once we get together here, come to an agreement, you should go ahead and act!” the president warned.