Translated material
Belarus will be economical
Minsk is preparing a directive on frugality
The Belarusian government yesterday reviewed a draft presidential directive on savings and frugality aimed at adapting the economy to increased energy prices . The document systematizes proposals to reduce the country's dependence on Russian energy supplies, the share of which is currently about 90%, and by 2020 should be no more than 65%.By 2010, Minsk plans to conclude long-term agreements on the supply of energy resources, of which 20% should be purchased outside of Russia. A state oil company, which is expected to be created in the coming months, will be responsible for the diversification of oil supplies, as well as for the sale of petroleum products. In addition to searching for new suppliers, Minsk intends to develop local and alternative fuels in order to increase their share to 25% by 2012. To achieve this, a wide variety of projects will be implemented, ranging from the construction of nuclear power plants to the cultivation of fast-growing wood, which is supposed to be used for firewood.
The document did not ignore the issues of saving energy resources. Each enterprise will receive appropriate tasks. However, according to Vremya Novostey’s interlocutor, deputy director of the research center of the Belarusian Institute of Privatization and Management, Irina Tochitskaya, “implementing an energy saving program requires significant investments, for which enterprises and the state are unlikely to have their own money, and attracting foreign investment is not easy.” task". “The question today is not where to get oil, but how ready the Belarusian economy is to work at world prices. The experience of recent months shows that I am not ready,” Ms. Tochitskaya told VN.
The government believes that the problem of energy saving can be solved by stimulating heads of government agencies, whose salaries will depend on the amount of energy resources saved. This will not be difficult for new generations of managers, since students and schoolchildren are going to be taught frugality from a young age. “The directive is nothing more than a political appeal. Many years ago I worked at a factory and gave political information about how the economy should be economical. This is a document from the same series,” Belarusian independent economist Vasily Shlyndikov told VN.