Business news

MINSK, 7 December (BelTA) – For the most part Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko approved the draft social and economic development forecast, the draft state budget, and the draft monetary management policy for 2016 during the government conference held on 7 December, BelTA has learned.

The documents will be polished for the next few days to present the final versions to the head of state. No fundamental remarks were voiced during the conference. At the same time the President gave instructions to assign performance indicators to all the economic operators and executives concerned. For instance, the number of created jobs will be a performance indicator for heads of oblast administrations and district administrations. Performance indicators will be evaluated on a quarterly basis.

Among the economic priorities for the next year the head of state mentioned export growth, efforts to bolster the positions of Belarusian manufacturers on the home market, the introduction of new technologies, and the reduction of prime costs. The President made it clear that no layoffs for the sake of reducing prime costs will be allowed. Optimization is necessary, yet new jobs should be created at the same time. Alexander Lukashenko remarked that economic plans and forecasts should be compiled and implemented taking into account people’s interests: it is necessary to give jobs to people and demand quality performance in exchange for salaries.