Volozhin Region
Executive Committee

Belarus intends to expand opportunities to use family capital ahead of due time.

The relevant draft decree has already been drawn up and submitted to the government, Marina Artemenko, the head of the population, gender and family policy department at the Belarusian Labor and Social Security Ministry, told journalists during a web-based press briefing, BelTA has learned.

According to Marina Artemenko, thanks to the family capital program, the number of families with third and subsequent children in Belarus has increased. Since 2015, around 20,000 such children are born in Belarus annually, which accounts for 23% of the total.

As many as 97,000 deposit accounts with the total sum of Br2.5 billion were opened for large families under Belarus' family capital program. “This is almost as much as the yearly funds earmarked for paying state benefits to families with children,” Marina Artemenko pointed out.

So far, 31,000 large families used family capital ahead of due time (as of 1 March, this sum exceeded Br440 million, or 18% of the sum in the deposit accounts). “Since 2020, more large families have decided to use family capital ahead of due time, thanks to the amendments to the legislation that allow using family capital for housing and education, which are important issues for large families,” Marina Artemenko noted.

"The government has already submitted a draft decree on family capital which provides for the expansion of its use," she added.

As the draft decree was prepared the opinion of large families and government bodies was studied and most popular uses were chosen among.

For example, the draft decree proposes to further expand the options of early use of family capital to address housing issues, in particular, to use it to repay the debt on a loan in cases when citizens independently entered into a housing construction contract (now only in cases of referral for housing construction in due course). It also proposes to use it to repay housing loans provided by organizations at the place of work of citizens and to purchase a share in the ownership of residential premises.

In the field of education, the family capital funds will be allowed to be used to pay for education in institutions of higher and vocational education of consumer cooperation and universities of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.

The draft decree also provides for a completely new area of use of the family capital - to purchase products of social rehabilitation and adaptation for people with disabilities.

"The draft decree contains measures to limit the misuse of family capital funds," Marina Artemenko added.

Written by minsk-region.gov.by

As of 1 April 2021 Belarus' external state debt totaled $18.1 billion, $0.5 billion or 2.4% down since the beginning of the year (taking into account differences in currency exchange rates), BelTA learned from the Belarusian Finance Ministry.

In January-March 2021 the Belarusian government borrowed an equivalent of $171.5 million, including $122.7 million from the Russian government, $40.3 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $8.3 million from the Export–Import Bank of China and $0.2 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).

In January-March 2021 Belarus spent $568.7 million to repay the external state debt, including $242.7 million to the Russian government, $189.9 million to Chinese banks, $112.1 million to the EFSD, $22 million to the IBRD, $1.5 million to the EBRD and the NIB, and $0.5 million to the U.S. Commodity Credit Corporation.

As of 1 April 2021 Belarus' state debt totaled Br59.3 billion, up Br1.5 billion or 2.7% since the beginning of the year.

The internal state debt amounted to Br11.8 billion as of 1 April. Taking into account differences in currency exchange rates, the internal state debt went up by Br1.9 billion or 19.1% since the beginning of the year.

In January-March 2021 individuals and corporations bought $721 million worth of domestic government bonds nominated in foreign and national currencies.

BelTA

Belarus will be working to increase export of food, maintain presence in traditional markets and get access to new ones, Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Subbotin told journalists following the meeting hosted by the head of state on 29 April to discuss the current situation in the agricultural sector of the country, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Subbotin hailed significant achievements of the Belarusian agricultural sector, including ensuring food security. “Now we will focus on increasing sales and entering new markets. This is the priority,” he stressed.

According to Aleksandr Subbotin, the situation with Belarus' export is fluid. “We might lose our position in one market but at the same time gain a foothold in another two or three . Analyses show that food supplies will remain important. The world is starting to notice the deficit of food and the prices for all foods are starting to climb. This might sound as an overstatement, but Belarus is one of the world's major food manufacturers and exporters. We realize this and will try to keep this position,” Aleksandr Subbotin noted. “This is not an easy task, but thanks to our hard and careful work, we are making headway, albeit slowly,” he added.

In 2020, Belarus' export of agricultural and food products amounted to $5.8 billion, 4.3% up over 2019. Revenues in foreign currency went up by $240 million. Belarus supplied its products to 104 countries in 2019 and to 116 countries in 2020. In Q1 2021, the revenues in foreign currency grew by $72 million year-on-year.

Steps to boost export were on the agenda of the meeting hosted by the head of state on 29 April. According to Aleksandr Subbotin, such meetings with the president and governors are a good tradition and are important. The agricultural sector has become a high-technology sector embracing many various branches, and it is important to ensure cooperation between them, outline development areas, and devise a strategy for the future. Thanks to the participation of the governors, the participants of the meeting were able to address several complicated issues related to the operation of the agricultural sector, Aleksandr Subbotin added.

BelTA

The 9th edition of the International Economic Forum and the 10th edition of the national universal trade fair “Traditions of Orsha” will be running in Orsha from 28 April to 1 May, BelTA learned from Galina Svitina, the head of the economy department of the Orsha District Executive Committee.

The economic forum will bring together around 100 participants. On the first day of the forum, representatives of Orsha and its twin towns Qingdao and Yiwu (China), Gagarin, Vyazma, Tver, and Ivanovo (Russia) will meet online to discuss ways to advance economic cooperation and talk about opportunities for foreign companies in their cities and countries. There are plans to sign a memorandum of cooperation between the pilot zone of regional trade and economic cooperation China-SCO and the Belarusian company Bremino-Group. A Confucius center of the National Confucius Institute of Sinology at Belarusian State University will open at Secondary School No.16 of Orsha with assistance from Chinese partners.

The second day of the economic forum will focus on small business. The program will include online and offline seminars, panel discussions, and presentations to discuss support to small business at the local and government level, digitization of the agricultural sector, and small business development in the countryside. The organizers of the forum will speak about projects running in Orsha District within the framework of the UNDP programs. There are four such projects, two of which are aimed at improving living standards of people with disabilities. The program of the second day will feature the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Center and the FabLab workshop.

The third day of the forum will be centered around retirement benefits. During an online discussion, foreign experts from Italy and Russia will speak about social protection of the elderly in their countries. Representatives of the local social services center that actively works with people with disabilities and the elderly will present humanitarian projects that are carried out in Orsha District.

A job fair will be running during the entire forum. School and college students will learn more about universities and vocational education institutions of Belarus. Representatives of educational institutions will advertise subjects that young people can major in and inform them about the terms and dates of this year's admission campaign.

The national universal trade fair “Traditions of Orsha” will demonstrate a wide range of Belarusian and foreign products. Representatives of companies from Orsha's twin towns will promote their food and non-food products. For example, Russia's Smolensk traditionally brings various kinds of fish to Orsha. The fair will showcase apparel made in Belarus and in Russia. Visitors to the event will also be able to buy Easter goods.

The forum will wrap up on 1 May. Participants will be presented with diplomas.

The events have been organized by the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Orsha District Executive Committee. The opening ceremony will take place in the Ice Arena at 10:00 on 28 April.

BelTA

A regular meeting of the CSTO Defense Ministers Council was held in Dushanbe on 27 April. The day before, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon met with the defense ministers of the CSTO member states, BelTA has learned from the press service of the Defense Ministry.

The parties discussed regional security and cooperation within the CSTO Defense Ministers Council. The parties also exchanged views on the challenges and threats to military security and measures to neutralize them.

According to Belarus' Defense Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin, the main sources of threats to the CSTO member states are the activities of Western states to build up coalition and national military capabilities and active expansion of the U.S. military presence in Europe, the unresolved armed conflicts, primarily in Syria and Afghanistan, the persistently high level of international terrorism and religious extremism.

The ministers also highlighted the most pressing problems of the Eastern European region: a large-scale information war, the destructive activities of the West to destabilize the situation in the post-Soviet space, unresolved conflicts and color revolutions.

Viktor Khrenin briefed his colleagues on the actions of the Belarusian opposition, who, under the supervision of their Western handlers, attempted to overthrow the constitutional order in Belarus and organize a coup d'etat through the physical removal of the top officials.

“The parties exchanged the views on military security issues in the regions of responsibility of the CSTO and made decisions on the further development of the military dimension of the CSTO,” the ministry said.

BelTA

Masherov Vitebsk State University will play host to the 6th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Topical Issues of Source Studies” on 23-24 April, head of the department of history and cultural heritage of Masherov Vitebsk State University, candidate of historical sciences Anatoly Dulov told BelTA.

The Vitebsk conference is held every two years. Today it is one of the largest and most representative scientific events in the field of source studies in the post-Soviet space. About 200 researchers from educational institutions and research centers of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Poland will take part in the conference, which will be held online and offline this year.

The conference will highlight a wide range of issues related to theory, history and research practices of source studies, archival and museum source studies. Participants will also discuss the topics of source historiography and the treatment of sources of general and national history from antiquity to the present day. The thematic block of the conference will be represented by reports devoted to sources of personal origin. The regional block will include materials characterizing the sources of the history of relations between the Belarusian lands and the state of the German order in Prussia and Livonia in the 13th-16th centuries.

The program of the forum will include a presentation of the collection of archival documents and materials “Without Statute of Limitations. Belarus: Crimes of the Nazis and their accomplices against the civilian population on the occupied territory of the BSSR during the Great Patriotic War. Vitebsk Oblast” and the monograph “The Republic of Belarus in the integration processes in the post-Soviet space” by candidates of historical sciences, associate professors Aleksandr Kosov and Denis Yurchak. There will also be an hour of memory for Viktor Taranevsky (1954-2020), Belarusian literary critic, translator and researcher of the 17th century noblemen's memoirs, Vitebsk chronicle and Mogilev chronicle.

The conference is organized by Masherov Vitebsk State University, Belarusian State University, the National Institute of Higher School, St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the V. N. Karazin Kharkov National University and the State Archive of Vitebsk Oblast. The scientific forum will be supported by the Smolensk Regional Public Organization of the Russian Union of Youth.

BelTA

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko appointed new police chiefs in Minsk Oblast, Brest Oblast, Grodno Oblast on 30 April, BelTA has learned.

Aleksandr Astreiko has been appointed Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee. Previously, he served as head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee.

Oleg Shulyakovsky has been named Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Brest Oblast Executive Committee. He held the post of first deputy head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Gomel Oblast Executive Committee – head of the criminal police.

Dmitry Rezenkov has been appointed Head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Grodno Oblast Executive Committee. Until now, he was the first deputy head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Vitebsk Oblast Executive Committee - head of the criminal police.

BelTA

Thanks to the potential of the agricultural sector, which has been created over the years of the country's independence, the output of the country's main products increased last year, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a meeting held on 29 April to discuss the current situation in the agricultural sector of the country, BelTA has learned.

According to the head of the state, the previous year was a real test for the system of the world economic relations: the borders were closed, the long lasting trade connections were destroyed and the states and economic unions refused to meet their obligations of mutual support. “I do not rule out that someone needed this. However, the fact that many took advantage of the situation is probably no secret to all the present here,” the president said.

National interests won in this coronavirus test, especially in such a fundamental area of state security as ensuring the priority needs of the population, said Aleksandr Lukashenko.

“In this context, the issue of food security came to the fore. Last spring there were panic moods worldwide: they did not know how to sow and grow crops, they predicted a shortage of food. It happened so. Today the rise in food prices has exceeded 10% across the planet. However, this is precisely the moment when the so-called ‘dictatorship' and discipline, for which we are not just criticized but reproached, showed their effectiveness. Thanks to the potential that we have developed during the period of independence in the agricultural sector, we ensured the growth of production of the main types of food products last year,” the president said.

At the same time the information from watchdogs about the current state of affairs in cattle breeding is somewhat alarming, the head of state said. Production of livestock and poultry in live weight has slightly reduced. There has been also an increase in mortality and a reduction of livestock. “I think the prosecutor general is well aware that this is the area of responsibility of the prosecutor's office. The loss of livestock is inadmissible if we want agricultural production to grow. I have said this many times: district executive committees should see that if two or three farms perform poorly, the young stock should be removed from these farms and sent to the farms that can provide the needed care,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

In his words, these are not only technological issues, which specialists must plan and solve in advance. Production is the basis for successful sales of products and the positive economic situation of the village.

“Do not even ask for money. You have the money. We need to solve the problems and implement the plans we have outlined. We cannot inject significant sums of money in the areas which should earn themselves and replenish the budget. We cannot afford to make up for money losses with anything but production efficiency,” the president stressed.

According to him, the situation in the industry differs by region and even more so by district. “If there are stably performing farms, why are there such striking results given the same weather, financial and other factors? Aleksandr Lukashenko wondered. He added that someone might complain about a shortage of staff or a lack of good equipment. According to the president, all these problems can be solved: during the busy season additional workers can be hired or the existing team can be paid for working two shifts, and the machinery should be treated carefully. “Of course, if you use it around the clock and do not maintain it, a year later you will put it under the fence. It is necessary to treat the equipment carefully. No need to overuse it, drive it into a swampy area when the terms are tight. You'd better work when the soil dries up in three shifts,” the head of state said.

"There are issues with discipline and organization. Sometimes it seems that the more support and trust is given to a region, the worse it performs. We will discuss the example of Vitebsk Oblast in the near future, and God forbid you make no progress there. We have already done everything that you have asked for,” the president said.

The head of state decided to hold a broad-format meeting to deal with these issues and hear out reports of the governors. First of all, he was interested in the reasons that became an obstacle to the dynamic development of the agro-industrial complex and measures which are taken to eliminate them.

“The agricultural industry is specific in that it is at the local level, not in Minsk, where the key factors of success are found: efficient use of material and labor resources, elimination of mismanagement, optimal use of all the potential of the industry. Today we need to make decisions that will set specific tasks for managers at all levels and establish parameters that will subsequently be used to evaluate the results of work,” the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed Chairman of the State Control Committee Vasily Gerasimov to take control of the situation.

The head of state also touched upon the progress in spring field work. He noted that the farms are still behind schedule. The president set the task to sow beets, flax, corn and half of potatoes by 9 May. “9 May is the deadline. On 10 May I will find time to inspect the country (I have developed certain points over the years) and to draw a conclusion about the capabilities of the governors and the people subordinate to them,” the Belarusian leader said.

BelTA

Belarus is mulling over strengthening the role of the government in issues related to the state budget at the constitutional level, Chairman of the Constitutional Court, Chairman of the Constitutional Commission Piotr Miklashevich said during a session of the Constitutional Commission, BelTA has learned.

“State budget as a central element of the country's financial system is an indispensable attribute of a state and the economic and financial foundation for its sovereignty,” Piotr Miklashevich noted. “We are mulling over increasing the role of the government in drafting the budget, submitting it to the parliament, overseeing the execution of the state budget, and reporting to the parliament about its status. This will go in line with the constitutional and legal status of the government,” he added.

The Constitutional Commission convened for the third time on 28 April. The agenda of the meeting focuses on amendments to the provisions regarding the functions and powers of the president and the government – the Council of Ministers. The first meeting of the Constitutional Commission took place on 31 March. The commission is set to convene twice a month.

BelTA

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