A. Lukashenko demanded that clear approaches to the regulation of intermediary activities be developed within February.

On January 12, Minsk /BELTA correspondent/. President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has demanded that clear approaches to regulating intermediary activities in procurement using the own funds of state-controlled enterprises and organizations be developed within February of this year. He set this task on January 12 at a meeting to discuss this issue, the Presidential Press Service informed BELTA. The Head of State noted that this is a pressing problem that requires a systematic and consistent approach. "The state and the economy are suffering losses because a whole parasitic layer has emerged, thriving on speculation," the President said. According to him, cases are being identified where even Belarusian goods are purchased through intermediaries. "Why? Is it impossible to buy goods directly from one enterprise to another in Belarus without intermediaries? It is possible," Alexander Lukashenko noted. "This problem has become criminal. Primarily because intermediaries are mostly relatives, children, associates, friends of certain managers who purchase such goods, whether Belarusian or imported," the Head of State emphasized, noting that "we have a lot of such cases." "They say this is natural for a market economy. Perhaps it is natural, but I do not want half of the relevant people to be jailed," the President said. He added that this is precisely why he asked for the development of appropriate approaches to regulating intermediary activities in procurement using the own funds of enterprises and organizations. Alexander Lukashenko recalled that he had repeatedly instructed the State Control Committee, jointly with law enforcement agencies, to suppress such intermediation in the sale of domestically produced goods, as well as to limit procurement through intermediaries.

The State Control Committee has submitted to the Head of State for consideration a draft decree that establishes a ban on the use of so-called intermediary schemes in the procurement of goods (works, services) at the expense of own funds of state organizations, as well as joint-stock companies with a state share (or communal property) of more than 50%. Such procurements should be carried out only from manufacturers of goods, or from their official representatives. It is proposed to toughen responsibility for non-compliance with the established procedure. "The measures are, of course, tough. However, upon familiarization with this draft, a number of questions arise. The adoption of this document should not paralyze the economy, but it must be sufficient and comprehensive," the President emphasized in this regard.

Alexander Lukashenko also noted that the decree consists of referential norms. "We agreed that the decree should be unambiguous, so that it can be worked with. Why has this not been done?" the Head of State asked.

As reported by the Chairman of the State Control Committee, Alexander Yakobson, the goal of the developed document is to maximally exclude the participation of intermediary structures in procurement procedures carried out at the expense of own funds of legal entities. In doing so, various options were considered as to which economic entities the decree should apply to.

"For large enterprises of the republic, establishing the procurement procedure proposed in the draft decree will not be a shock, as this practice already exists in many cases, and local acts are in force that define the requirements for carrying out procurements at the expense of own funds," noted the Head of the State Control Committee.

Alexander Yakobson also noted that in a number of cases, when it comes to small batches of Belarusian-made goods, their purchase directly from the manufacturer may not be profitable. "Each situation has its pros and cons. Nevertheless, in some cases, official dealers should have a place," he believes.

"A golden mean must be found here," the President summarized.

In his opinion, there is also no point in trying to regulate the work of private enterprises in this matter. "Let private entities buy from anyone. It's their money. Why should we interfere in private enterprises? Private entities will never give their money away just like that," believes Alexander Lukashenko.

During the discussion, Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich drew the attention of the meeting participants to another aspect of this issue – the need to improve the procurement of imported goods. "In our opinion, and our views here coincide with the State Control Committee, pure importers largely parasitize as intermediaries, purchasing imports and bringing them into the country," he said. Thus, according to statistical data for January-October 2011, goods worth $18.4 billion were imported by major ministries and concerns, and an additional $6.1 billion worth of imported goods were purchased on the domestic market from Belarusian residents. Therefore, there are significant reserves for optimizing procurement. Mikhail Myasnikovich made a number of proposals to improve the regulation of intermediary activities. Firstly, to take the existing state procurement mechanism as a basis and refine it, extending it to procurement using enterprises' own funds. "This procedure is well known to economic entities, and there is experience," the Prime Minister noted. In his opinion, personal responsibility for the effectiveness of procurement should be assigned to ministers, and for enterprises of communal ownership – to governors. It is also necessary to take into account the specifics of industries and ensure the openness and transparency of procurement based on competitive procedures. Separately, the Prime Minister proposed to regulate issues in the sphere of exchange trading and procurement at electronic auctions, as well as the activities of trade and logistics centers (there will be 28 of them in the country in the near future). "I will not interfere in this matter. The Government will make its decision, taking into account what has been achieved. But there will be ironclad responsibility of the government and ministers if we see violations in this process," Alexander Lukashenko instructed. "Make a decision. It should improve or raise the current practice to a higher level." Regarding the legislative procedure for establishing administrative responsibility for violations in the conduct of procurement by organizations using their own funds, the Head of State said: "We will resolve this issue in terms of responsibility. This is not a lengthy procedure at all. The main thing here is not so much a punitive measure as optimally establishing rules of conduct."

Addressing Alexander Jakobson, the President noted: "You need to strengthen oversight of this situation with law enforcement agencies. What concerns me most is the speculative component. Relatives, children, and friends of the relevant managers often act as speculators and offenders here. This must be decisively stopped."

"Let's agree that we will reach a solution to this issue within February," Alexander Lukashenko summed up. -0-

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