On June 15, Minsk /Tatyana Polezhay - BELTA/. Preferential lending in Belarus will continue, but its volume will decrease. This was stated today by the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko during his visit to a residential development complex in the Vostochny district of Minsk, as reported by a BELTA correspondent. The Head of State instructed to create a new system of preferential lending to the population within six months, defining the categories of citizens who will be eligible for loans. The President believes that such categories will include large families and military personnel, however, the volume of state support for them will also vary. "We must be frank that we cannot provide preferential loans in such volumes. We will not be able to build housing for free, because with the current inflation, which has eroded everything over 20 years, a person effectively receives an apartment for free. Therefore, there will be no free housing in the volumes that existed before. Not because there are problems, difficulties, etc. We got too carried away, and in fact, many people do not think about the fact that they themselves must build a house, an apartment, and take care of their family. This is what a person should primarily worry about, and only then – support, assistance, etc.," said the President. He also added that "the situation has shown that thoughtless injection of funds, including into housing construction, leads to similar panics." "Preferential lending, of course, will remain, but it will be reduced to the volume that the state can sustain, so as not to create further problems in the currency, financial, economic markets, etc.," said the Head of State. "But we need to clearly define who we will help with benefits," the President noted. "It is high time for the government to decide what support will be provided to families with three, four, five children, and to clearly stipulate this." "We cannot thoughtlessly inject money, including through emission, into construction, agriculture, or any state programs," the President emphasized. Alexander Lukashenko instructed the government to develop a clear system for providing state support for housing construction, and "not from the perspective of Santa Claus giving everything to everyone." -0-

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