First Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Turchin stated on the air of the Belarus 1 TV channel that there are reserves for a 4% GDP growth in 2019, according to BELTA.
"I think that the figure of 4% GDP growth is slightly above the global GDP growth rate, but it is achievable. We see that there are significant reserves for GDP growth. We need to take more decisive steps in various directions to make this happen," informed the First Deputy Prime Minister. According to him, the first step to increase efficiency is proper corporate governance. It is necessary to build effective management to give impetus to the development of enterprises.
"We have submitted a draft decree to the Presidential Administration concerning a number of enterprises whose supervisory boards should be headed by senior officials, plus the top 100 joint-stock companies in our country, where we will build a normal, effective corporate governance system," Alexander Turchin continued, adding that not only officials will head the supervisory boards.
The First Deputy Prime Minister explained that the Ministry of Economy had calculated the potential GDP size in our country at different labour productivity levels. "If we had achieved results in these leading enterprises, we would have had Br150 billion (GDP) in principle," he noted.
Alexander Turchin also noted that a new law on public procurement will come into force on July 1, 2019. Therefore, interested government bodies are currently preparing an electronic platform for public procurement. "Based on last year's results, about 80% of state funds spent on procurement were used through a single-source procedure. It is important that the single-source procurement system will operate in test mode from July 1, and will become mandatory from January 1, 2020. All procurements will be electronic and transparent. We will see who buys what and for how much. Openness and public control are the best ways to combat corruption," the First Deputy Prime Minister summarised.