Anatol Shumchanka: The officials solve problems only when they receive publicity

It will be fair if the individual entrepreneurs, who have been working on the “Dinamo” stadium market for a long time, stay there in the future.

 This opinion was expressed by the chairman of republican public association “Perspective” Anatol Shumchanka to the EuroBelarus Information Service.

“Perspective” has called on the President of Belarus Aliaksandr Lukashenka in connection with the expulsion of the individual entrepreneurs, who work on the “Dinamo” stadium market.

At the time there are 326 tenants who work on the market. “They have conscientiously effected lease payments and other pay-outs connected with them to “Minsk “Dinamo” stadium” over a number of years, by that covering the self-financing part of its activity. Because of the future reconstruction all the entrepreneurs received the order to vacate the occupied places till December, 1 of the current year”, - representatives of “Perspective” announced in their appeal.

Minsk City Executive Committee suggested the lessees to move to the ground of Zhdanovichi shopping center or to the market in Kurasoushchyna neighborhood instead. “According to the information received, the drainage system is not working properly on the offered ground so it is regularly flooded, and the market is closing for reconstruction in the nearest future – all this  stultifies the entrepreneurs’ moving to that places”, - the appeal says.

As Anatol Shumchanka pointed out, the appeal is addressed to the President because he has held a meeting on the stadium reconstruction lately.

The entrepreneurs hope that the appeal will be taken into account, and the resolution made by the President will be implemented. “I believe in the positive answer, because everybody is interested in it. To reject money today is silly, especially for the work which will be continued indefinitely. And indeed the sum of money needed for the reconstruction has not been found yet”, - Anatol Shumchanka said.

The entrepreneurs point to the fact that the experience of implementation of different investment projects in Belarusan capital shows that the entrepreneurs’ expulsion before the start of the work is not always reasonable.

“So under the decree about 800 lessees of the Chervenski market (Iranian investments in the building of a large shopping center) had to vacate the occupied places for about 1,5 year ago, but in reality it is necessary only now. So in January 2013 the entrepreneurs will move to a new, equipped place”, - remind the authors of the appeal.

“Everybody has a vivid recollection of the “Tractor” stadium where individual entrepreneurs were working. The officials represented by the sales department of Minsk City Executive Committee and the then chairman of the entrepreneur committee were showing us beautiful layouts and saying “there will be a garden city here”.  And what is in the result? The people were moved out of placed, disemployed, some of them moved to other markets - and the stadium does not receive money”, - Anatol Shumchanka outlined.  

The appeal also says in that the majority of the entrepreneurs would like to finance the participatory construction of retail facilities built during the reconstruction. “And it will be fair if the entrepreneurs stay there in the future”, - the leader of “Perspective” association outlines.

When speaking about why the entrepreneurs are moved from their places too early during the implementation of capital investment projects, Anatol Shumchanka said:

“On paper officials do everything very quickly, and on paper everything looks very good. At the moment they do not have close contact with the people on a large scale. And it seems to them that if the entrepreneurs are moved out several months to go before the start of the work, nothing bad will happen. But these several months do matter for business, so that to have a backup plan for going to another selling spot, for instance”.

However, when a problem receives publicity, the officials start to work on its solution on orders from on high quite normally, the leader of the entrepreneurs association pointed out. “That is why we try to go with the time and step into the situation”, - Anatol Shumchanka explained.