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Economists on Lukashenka's Economy: "No Matter How Much You Invest, It Makes No Good"

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Economists on Lukashenka's Economy: "No Matter How Much You Invest, It Makes No Good"
Lev Marholin

Is it worth restoring loss-making Belarusian enterprises?

The head of Minsk bicycle plant Mikalai Ladutska believes that the development issue needs a special government's decision and more than $50 million.

- All these branches are ineffective with lots of problems, as well as in the entire territory. Therefore, one needs to take an integrated decision. But, unfortunately, there are many things to be done, the former chairman of the capital executive city committee claimed.

Can financial state investments save the Minsk bicycle plant?

- Money will be cast to the wind, economist Lev Marholin told in the interview with Zautra Tvae Krainy. - It does not matter how much money one invests, one part of it will slip through, another part will be stolen, so it makes no sense.

According to the expert, if the managing staff of the enterprise wants to revive it, there is a need to look for investor who knows what to invest in and what production will be in demand.

–And is there any sense to revive the enterprise?

- The production of the Minsk bicycle plant is in demand. It's a shame that Chinese bicycle have taken over the Belarusian market, when we can produce our own.

I think that it is easier to make our enterprise which works for the domestic market revive then one export-oriented. In Stockholm 76% of population (around 700 thousand) ride bicycles. If we could follow Swedes, our domestic market would make 7 million of bicycles! It could be possible to load the plant for many years. Only if the production will be of high quality and not expensive.

It is hard to compete with Chinese. It is impossible to imagine such production output at such low price. Therefore, there is a need either to sell the enterprise to investor to preserve the enterprise and work places or to try somehow to revive it with the state assistance.

Many Belarusian giants face the dilemma now. If they are closed down, people will not have work. However, this is not the way out. Certainly, a part of enterprises are subject to shut down, but only after an expert assessment is provided. The rule-of-thumb either to close down or revive such enterprises does not make any sense. Otherwise, the story with the woodworking industry is subject to recurrence.

- But now the world faces the postindustrial period, and we still try to bring back to life those already gone.

- The postindustrial period conveys nothing. All the same people ride bicycles, drive cars and will even ride in carts for a while if it is needed. Therefore, we need to develop new technology systems, and it does not mean that we should get rid of old ones. It should be done in parallel.

The state should seek for new priorities, change the education system, reform scientific institutions. There's a need in system reconstructions and transformations.

Any investment require, first of all, stability which is being provided by a democratic parliamentary system and security guaranteed by the independent judicial authority. Still we have none, all talks of technological breakthroughs are a monkey business.

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