On the principles of justice

Innovations in the work of Belarusian entrepreneurs and owners of agricultural estates, the activities of the institute of financial consulting for citizens, the safety of radioactive waste — these and other important topics were discussed at the meeting of the President with the Council of Ministers’ members. “My main requirement is transparency and the ability to control business activity. Business should have clear rules, and the state should have a conscientious taxpayer and a partner in the implementation of development programmes,” the Head of State emphasised at the beginning of the discussion.

The President added that the development of business environment should follow an evolutionary path to meet the needs of the Belarusian society. He asked to pay special attention to the work of private entrepreneurs. 
“We need to create an incentive for entrepreneurs to transform into a legal entity,” said the Belarusian leader.
Belarusian Economy Minister Aleksandr Chervyakov presented a draft law on the development of entrepreneurship. Its goal is to increase the contribution of citizens to the financing of state expenses by means of introducing simple terms and stimuli for organisation and upscaling of one’s business.
The participants of the meeting discussed this bill for almost an hour and a half. The President delved into the nuances proposed by the developers in the new document, and issued a verdict: so far everything looks complicated, the system should be understandable and accessible to people. The main requirement is to clearly define the types of activities that artisans, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities can engage in. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko gave an instruction to finalise the document as soon as possible. The President explained that, after all, the changes will come into force in 2023, which means that people should already understand how they will work next year.
In addition, an updated draft decree on agro-ecotourism in Belarus was submitted for consideration at the meeting.
“I once agreed and gave a start to this wonderful process so that people living in the rural areas, in beautiful corners of our nature, could show this beauty to the people, including foreign visitors, to give impetus to the development of farms or hideaways.
The sector is very important in terms of modernising rural infrastructure, creating jobs, preserving and augmenting our national cultural traditions, cherishing respect for nature,” said the President.
However, the President has been reported that some norms of the decree, which regulates the agro-ecotourism sector (Decree No. 365 of October 9th, 2017), remain on paper only. Specific facts are cited as examples. For instance, there are hotel and restaurant businesses operating under the guise of farm stays, especially near large cities. They do not pay taxes as hotel or restaurant operators. 
“They however have built hotels in picturesque places near the city under the guise of agro-ecotourism. I do not mind this. Just pay taxes as hotel operators. They have built luxury restaurants in the countryside. I do not mind it either. Let them be. But pay taxes like the rest of the restaurant business in the country. They have registered themselves as agro-ecotourism and enjoy benefits,” Aleksandr Lukashenko pointed to the unfairness of the situation.
Recreation in agro-eco-estates is a great way to feel the Belarusian flavour.
This is an amazing combination of urban comfort and village warmth.

The President was also interested in how the discussed proposals would affect farm stays located far from big cities.
The draft decree on creating a full-fledged financial counselling institution in Belarus was one of the focuses of the meeting.
“As I have been told, it is high time we come to grips with various kinds of consultants. With absolute impunity, unscrupulous brokers (dubbed black and grey brokers) cash in on the elderly and even on quite progressive young people,” the Head of State said. 
Aleksandr Lukashenko explained that the National Bank wants to encourage the creation of an institution of consultants. But there are important nuances here.
“I support counselling as such. But why take money for this? Well, those people who will consult are not poor. Who do we want to give this opportunity to profiteer from our people?” the Head of State asked point-blank.
Aleksandr Lukashenko demanded a detailed report on how this area of business should be regulated, what guarantees a person receives when turning to financial consultants, and whether banks will take money for this kind of counselling. After all, such services should be provided free of charge.
The meeting also discussed the issue of radioactive waste management.
“The construction of the Belarusian nuclear power plant heralded the emergence of a new industry in our country. Sooner or later we will need to dispose of nuclear waste — spent fuel. This substance is extremely dangerous (but very valuable). Therefore, I set the task to create a reliable radioactive waste management system and the appropriate infrastructure in Belarus,” the President recalled.
The issue was discussed last year, too. Back then it was decided that the so-called national operator would take care of this. This agency would be in charge of the construction of radioactive waste management facilities and will fully manage the process. 
“Firstly, by doing this we will follow the established world standards, as you say. Secondly, this is about the safety and health of the Belarusian nation and our neighbours, as you put it. However, our neighbours do not really care about the health of our people. My main demand is to place no burden on the budget; I do not want any additional ministries or departments labelled as an operator…” noted Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The President set the task to find the best way to deal with this waste, choose an operator and define its functions, “Behave like the masters of your country! Belarusians should be rest assured that they will not be exposed to any radiation on the territory of the country. This is the main thing!”

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by
Photos by belta and from open sources