Sole traders want Prakapovich to stop storytelling

Attempts to impose the authorities' point of view on businessmen lead to nowhere.

Anatoly Shumchanka, the chairman of the organisation Perspective, said it to charter97.org commenting on the deputy PM's remark that the devaluation wouldn't have happened if the Belarusians hadn't bought imported goods.

“As for the latests remarks by Prakapovich, I'd like to say that some years ago, when the country had a problem of overstock, Perspective made an excellent proposal. It remains in force today. We propose not to tell businessmen what they should do. It's a way to nowhere. It's another attempt of storytelling that will lead to no good. If the authorities impose a range of goods, sole traders will lose their money, but nobody will buy these goods,” the leaders of the business movement said.

According to Perspective's head, “we suggested and suggest the measures to stimulate the Belarusian industry”.

“Sole traders are an excellent indicator and a motor of the industry. It's possible to start this motor in Belarus. We propose that sole traders selling Bealrusian goods at markets and shopping centres pay a tax of one basic unit. We guarantee that things will begin to move in the right direction, especially in regions. We want the government to give us competitive advantage. It would be honest and fair. Sole traders wouldn't suffer, they wouldn't lose anything. They would have the choice: either to work on general conditions or to work with Belarusian goods paying 150,000 rubles of taxes a month. It would encourage sole traders to talk to directors of enterprises and make them produce more or less competitive goods. It will work. But what we see now is that the authorities try to lay all the blame on us,” Anatol Shumchanka is convinced.

Belarusian deputy PM Piotr Prakapovich criticised sole traders during a visit to Panda garment manufacturer in Brest as part a meeting of the Council on Small Business Development in Belarus.

“The task is to fulfill the order of the head of state to all government bodies, enterprises and business, namely to protect our market, to develop it, to make it able to meet the country's needs and increase exports,” the deputy PM said.