News & Events in Belarus

MINSK, 17 December (BelTA) – We should avoid wasteful spending and mismanagement in planning the 2019 budget, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he heard out a report on the final version of the draft Tax Code and the 2019 budget law of the Republic of Belarus, BelTA informs.

“The reason for today’s small meeting is as follows: having considered the plans of our work and the draft budget for the next year I instructed you and your specialists to scrutinize the draft budget once again. I asked you to eradicate all loopholes in the draft budget. Wasteful spending of public resources in the coming year is inadmissible. And not only in the coming year. Frugality is the key,” the Belarusian leader stressed.

“As practice shows, the government, ministers and some other people depending on the budget often want to have certain reserves and extra money just in case. This is totally inadmissible. So you had to get rid of such loopholes, if there were any, within two weeks,” the president remarked.

He instructed the chairman of the State Control Committee to pay special attention to this issue in the budget in 2019. “No purchases of cars except for centralized purchases are allowed. We produce cars in Belarus. Please keep this in mind. Do not waste money on unnecessary trips and visits. Stop it,” the head of state said. “You don’t have to attend all conferences in other countries. There are Belarusian embassies in virtually all countries where such conferences take place. Our diplomats can attend them.”

According to Alexander Lukashenko, it makes sense to take part in such events only if they bring financial benefits to the state or help build a positive image of the country.

“Focus on results. You understand what I mean. This applies to everybody. Therefore, I instructed you to revise the draft budget for 2019 and eradicate wastefulness,” the president added.

The head of state also instructed to deal with this issue as soon as possible, and then the parliament will make a decision on a corresponding draft law as part of its remit. “I know that the MPs have studied the draft budget and are waiting for the possible adjustments from the president. At the end of the meeting we will decide on adjustments. But it is essential to pass the budget today and then hand over the plan to the local level. Local administrative bodies in charge of budget planning should also look into it,” the Belarusian leader concluded.