Live in huts and till with plough?

Alyaksandr Lukashenka demanded to make housing in rural area chipper and ban import of agricultural machinery at the seminar of heads of state administration bodies in Minsk. “The exceptions can be made only if president permits, and only when I see a concrete enterprise needs a foreign harvester, a foreign plough, foreign tractor,” Lukashenka declared.

No “palaces!”

Alyaksandr Lukashenka requires stopping construction of palaces in the countryside in the frames of country revival programme. “I have information that 16% of housing constructed in the frames of the programme has cost more than USD 40.000, more than 11% has area of more than 100 square metres. But they are palaces!” Lukashenka said.

Addressing to heads of district executive committees and governors, he said: “You think – it’s not our money, not yours. It’s budgetary transfers.” He also warned: “You will go to prison, my dear.” “We can’t gift houses with area of 100 square metres in the countryside. We give houses for a person to start his or her career,” A. Lukashenka emphasised. The head of state tell the committee of state control to check such buildings. “I will be glad if I have mistaken,” he added.

The Belarusian Prime Minister Syargei Sidorski explained in his turn that the case is that typical projects, using expensive materials, in particular, metal tile, should be abandoned.

“Use metal tile, but do it at own expense, if you like,” Lukashenka said. He also reminded that “loans should be paid back.”

A. Lukashenka also noted that “we mustn’t build houses far from populated places, if there are vacant houses in a village.”

Unprofitable enterprise – to private owners

Alyaksandr Lukashenka thinks state support of unprofitable enterprises must be stopped, and they should be sold to private owners.

“We shouldn’t support slack enterprises. If they go to the bad, give them to private owners, let them do business, they have money,” A. Lukashenka said.

Head of state also spoke against giving money for unprofitable enterprises support from the Fund of National Development.

Save money and don’t buy foreign equipment

Alyaksandr Lukashenka decided on stopping import of agricultural equipment, whose analogs are produced in Belarus, from 1 January 2008. “I decided on stopping import of agricultural equipment,” Lukashenka declared. He added that an appropriate letter would be sent to governors.

The Belarusian ruler emphasised that “we should rest on national agricultural equipment” and explained that Belarus invested “considerable” facilities in organisation production of agricultural equipment, which could be comparable with import machinery.

At the same time he noted that foreign agricultural equipment can be bought only if Belarusian harvesters are not able to cope with their tasks.

A. Lukashenka stressed that Belarus “spent more than USD 200 million to buy import agricultural equipment. The state creates profitable conditions fro such purchases. It’s difficult for budget and forms credit balance of foreign trade.”

Head of state didn’t exclude the fact that decision on abandon import of agricultural equipment could be made in 2009-2010.

A. Lukashenka emphasised that every chain in vertical power will be responsible for quality and reliability of the equipment produced in Belarus.

“Somebody may be not glad with this decision (on abandon purchases of foreign agricultural equipment – IF). Governors. They want to buy import equipment. But it won’t be so. The decision has been made and will come into force from 1 January,” Lukashenka declared.

Lukashenka has said a manufacturing order on agricultural equipment production will have been formed till the end of the year. The committee of state control and prosecutor’s office will control the observation of the decree. “The responsibility must be urgent. The exceptions can be made only if president permits, and only when I see a concrete enterprise needs a foreign harvester, a foreign plough, a foreign tractor,” Lukashenka declared.