Lukashenko says Belarus faces tight budgetary constraints in 2016
MINSK. Dec 7 (Interfax) - Belarus faces serious budgetary constraints in 2016, President Alexander Lukashenko said.
"The year will be one of tight budgetary constraints. We must ensure macroeconomic stability, and honor all commitments to the people," the BelTA news agency quoted Lukashenko as saying at a meeting on the draft 2016 macroeconomic forecasts, budget and monetary policies on December 7.
"Belarus is a sovereign country. So solutions to the problems in our economy depend primarily on us, on how we work, how well we trade, how effectively we promote our goods inside the country and on foreign markets," he said.
Lukashenko said Belarus was counting on the international community's help and support, but that "we shouldn't have to accommodate anybody, be this the international community, International Monetary Fund, Russia or other states."
Lukashenko also said much more should be done to curb inflation. "We have brought inflation down, but not enough. We need to bring it down more energetically, to achieve single figures. Then there'll be macroeconomic stability, and the conditions to lower interest rates on credits," he said.
"We're all of course concerned by the question what happens further on, what path we are going to tread." "I'd like to hear from the government, from the relevant officials what is being proposed," he said.
The 2016 draft republican budget envisages a surplus of 18 trillion Belarusian rubles or 2% of GDP. This year's budget originally projected a surplus of 15.7 trillion rubles but this was later adjusted to 10.462 trillion rubles or 1.2% of GDP.
According to the macroeconomic forecast, inflation in Belarus should not exceed 12% in 2015, however the National Bank has set a target of 18%, give or take 2 percentage points. The National Bank chairman said in July that inflation might be 15%-18% for the year.
Inflation was 16.2% in 2014, above a forecast puts consumer price growth at 12%.
