24 April, Minsk /BELTA/. Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich criticised ministries and departments for inefficient work and demanded that the target indicators set for 2013 be met. He voiced this demand on 23 April at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, where the results of Belarus' socio-economic development in the first quarter of the current year were discussed, according to a BELTA correspondent.
The economic performance achieved in January-March, according to the Prime Minister, can be described as not bad only in the context of global trends of slowing global economy. "But if we look from the perspective of meeting the target indicators set by the Head of State for 2013, I believe that the results achieved do not satisfy anyone," stated Mikhail Myasnikovich. "The assurances of heads of ministries, departments, and regional executive committees that everything will be done and everything will be mobilised have proven to be unsustainable."
The head of government pointed out shortcomings in the working methods of ministers and collegiums of ministries. "Everything is reduced to some minor issues, those that undoubtedly require solutions, but they can be resolved even at the enterprise level," he noted. "Unfortunately, a strategic approach was not demonstrated in the first quarter, which the Head of State rightly pointed out and criticised the government for on March 1."
A number of regional executive committees, ministries, and concerns are not meeting their planned targets for 2013. "This particularly applies to exports, inventories, and accounts receivable," Mikhail Myasnikovich continued.
He recalled that relevant intergovernmental trade and economic commissions have been established for each region of Russia and for each foreign country. However, their work is not sufficiently effective. "Therefore, I have decided that in May, I will hear from each co-chairman from the Belarusian side about the work done," the Prime Minister continued. "We need to diversify sales markets, but nothing will replace the volume of our trade with the Russian Federation."
Mikhail Myasnikovich also drew attention to the growth of external accounts receivable. The Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Energy, and the Belneftekhim concern are working poorly to resolve this issue. "By May 15, each ministry must be reviewed, and those responsible for the unjustified growth of debt must be held accountable," demanded the head of government. "Today, there are sufficient financial instruments to manage accounts receivable, so objective reasons are practically absent."
Indicators for gross regional product (GRP) are not being met. In the Vitebsk and Mogilev regions, the GRP did not even reach last year's level. For these two regions alone, the country's economy has under-received Br2 trillion in added value, stated the Prime Minister.
In his opinion, the failure to meet forecast indicators is, first and foremost, the result of poor work by managers with personnel at all levels of management. "At the same time, all necessary conditions for meeting the planned indicators in the first quarter of the year were in place," stated Mikhail Myasnikovich.
He also touched upon issues of modernization, the need to reduce inflation, and the effective use of state property.
Characterizing the economic situation as a whole, Mikhail Myasnikovich urged heads of state bodies to mobilize efforts to fulfill the tasks set for 2013. "If we do not rectify the situation now, there is no point in waiting until the end of the year when the head of state will assess the government and regional executive committees," he noted. "Therefore, if a minister or deputy chairman of a regional executive committee responsible for a relevant area cannot manage, be a man – hand in your resignation and look for another job."
At the meeting of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers, the Minister of Economy, Nikolai Snopkov, delivered a report. He reported on the fulfillment of the main indicators of socio-economic development of Belarus in the first quarter and touched upon issues of modernization. The minister named the competitiveness of domestic products as the main factor in the development of Belarusian industries. He also proposed creating a working group under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy to analyze and develop solutions for current economic development issues.-0-