Uladzimir Kariagin: We hope that state’s readiness to “business/power” dialog isn’t a declaration

photo by EuroBelarus Information Service

On March 4 Belarusan entrepreneurs held the XVI Assembly of business circles in Minsk, presenting a project of Belarus Business National Platform 2015 “Structural modernization of business and power”.

In the “Belarus Business National Platform 2015” approved by the Assembly business community:

- Provides 85 concrete offers, aimed at creating conditions favorable for business development and economy’s stabilization;

- Names 27 mechanisms and instruments for realization of the Platform;

- Defines priority directions for reforms of the business climate: bona fide competition; effective debureaucratisation; regulatory optimization; monetary policy and finance; honest privatization; responsible partnership.

“Today we recorded the highest number of business associations and unions (67 of them) that are taking part in the Assembly. Two main questions are: presentation of the BBNP-2015 and strengthening of “business-power” dialog. Having presented a new PM Andrei Kabiakou in the Parliament, the head of state Aliaksandr Lukashenka counseled him with the suggestion to the government to leave their cabinets and go to entrepreneurs. Let’s see how some ministries are fulfilling these instructions. We have our traditional allies – the ministries of economic block; however, the whole number of ministries still sabotages the dialog between the business and the authorities – both in the advisory and public councils, as well as from the point of view of entrepreneurs”, - said Uladzimir Kariagin, co-chairman of the Republican Confederation for Entrepreneurship before the work of the Assembly started.

According to Aliaksandr Kalinin, the chairman of the Belarusan Union of Entrepreneurs, “by ratifying this document annually, Belarusan business formulates the set of questions that it finds necessary to discuss with the government.” “We see that our economic model is, on the one hand, successful – in comparison with a number of neighboring countries; on the other hand, it is not very stable to the influence of external factors – recurrence of devaluations of Belarusan ruble attests to that. That is why by suggesting a package of measures we would like to move in a certain systemic direction together with the government. We see this direction as an increase of the share of small and medium business in our economy, and to do that we need to resolve issues in complex. We see that the new membership of the government restored a dialog, we are heard, and we take part in a number of conferences. But the main thing is for this dialog to become systemic and complex – this will allow to increase the stability of our economy”, - Kalinin said.

According to Kariagin, “the business is worried about the reputation of our country, the business climate, and investment climate is its component”. “Of course, investments without improving business climate won’t come. And Belarus needs investments today. We already have facts when certain Belarusan enterprises invest abroad, choosing different non-Belarusan areas for their business activity”, - he noted.

The chairman of the presidium of the Republican Confederation for Entrepreneurship believes that the main conditions for developing private initiative in Belarus are the “creation of conditions for honest competition and creation of a full-fledged infrastructure, including institutional one, in order to support business”:

“For example, creation of a state antimonopoly committee, so that the minor business could compete with the medium; the medium – with the large, and so on, so that the new production can be established. Now we have 360000 businesses; whereas according to the European norm, we need around 850000 businesses to work in the country. We lag behind even in terms of quantity, that is why there is a lot of work ahead”.

Meanwhile, according to the research presented at the Assembly, Belarusan business is far from optimistic prognoses. According to the results of the “Index of business optimism” only 1.9% of entrepreneurs believe that in 2015 situation in business will improve; 10.8% think that nothing will change, whereas 77.6% are sure that the situation will worsen.

The main problems named by the respondents are the state’s monopoly, restricted access to the financial resources, unstable legislation, and high expenses for paying taxes and rent.

Summing up the results of the Assembly in the talk with EuroBelarus Information Service Uladzimir Kariagin said:

“The main thing is that the business community demonstrated unity of opinion. And not only business community, as civil society representatives (members of the Belarusan National Platform of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Belarusian Helsinki Committee, Association of working women, independent trade unions, and other NGOs) also took part in the conference. All of them demonstrated understanding of both the economic situation and the common civil Belarusan problems. We showed readiness to discuss problems altogether. Let me note that the Assembly is not only a brand event, this is the summit of very huge preparatory work, dozens of events, forums, conferences, round tables, etc.”

Kariagin emphasizes that the current Assembly had recorded the highest representation of officials:

“28 representatives from all branches of power: Parliamentary, executive, control, and court. They had to get acquainted with our critical but well-argued assessment of the situation. We also had a lot of representatives of science – state universities, private institutions, analytical centres. In result we have concrete suggestions. Our platform is not a set of slogans; it is the concrete suggestions we need to introduce immediately. Let me note that the representatives of economic ministries stated about the understanding of problems indicated by the business and about desire to resolve them altogether. This is very important. There is readiness for a dialog; at least those officials who were present at the Assembly were talking about it. It seems that life makes them listen to the opinion of business, especially if this opinion is common, if it unites entrepreneurs, medium business, as well as large business-unions and associations. We are not satisfied with the declarations and events conducted just for a report; we are pragmatics”.