Belarusian authorities are running into heavy debts
- 8.04.2009, 10:30
Yesterday the World Bank mission started work in Minsk. The mission is to decide whether the request of Belarus about a loan would be met. According to mass media, the Belarusian side could ask for 1 billion dollar loan from this financial institution.
Representatives of the World Bank are to stay in Minsk until April 21. They are to discuss preparation of “possible issuing of a loan for goals of development” with the Belarusian authorities. In the report of the Belarusian office of the World Bank it is said that the decision is to be adopted according to the results of representatives of the mission with representatives of state authority bodies, business and academic circles, as well as other donor organisations, “Nezavisimaya Gaztea” writes.
The details about the sum of the loan and conditions are not revealed. At the same time the WB office specified that in line with the organization’s statute development loans constitute “budget’s bridge financing in support of mutually coordinated reform program, aimed at achievement of a number of concrete results of development”. It has been also stated that development loans are issued rather quickly, but “after settled terms for a tranche’s issuing fulfilled by the borrower”. Preparation of a loan is carried out with settlement with other donor organizations, in particular, the International Monetary Fund.
As we have informed, in the end of the last year the IMF approved issuing 2 billion dollar loan for Belarus. $800 mln have already been received by the country. The loan was received for a particular program. Its essence hadn’t been revealed. Its main points became known as far as they were realized. The main demand of the IMF was a one-time devaluation of the Belarusian ruble on January 2 and was equal to 20%. Besides, the program included liberalization of economy legislation, in particular, formation of pricing, as previously economic entities had been offered limits for price raising. Under a demand of the IMF a planned increase of payment for state-paid workers in November was cancelled.
Discussing the possible sum of the loan, experts recall that back in January the head of the National Bank of Belarus Pyotr Prakapovich spoke about IMF’s $1 billion. According to the Belarusian economist, the head of “Strategiya” analytic centre Leanid Zaika, the matter could concern $1.5-3 billion dollars.
Meanwhile, since 2007 when oil prices were increased, the situation with the balance of foreign trade is very difficult in Belarus. The former head of the National Bank Stanislau Bahdankevich in his comment stressed that since that time the crisis of the Belarusian economy started. The world crisis aggravated the situation and hastened the climax. “Belarus is so active in receiving loans in order to cover trade deficit,” he stated.
Independent experts, unlike the state ones who are writing requests for loans to Russia and international organisations in great quantities, find such steps a sign of weakness of the economic policy of the current regime and its inability to overcome the existing problems. To their mind, the Soviet-type model of economy restored in Belarus is unable to produce internationally competitive goods in a quantity that would allow steadying the trade balance. However, Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s attitude to market reforms and particularly to privatization remains negative. It leads to a situation when the balance of international payments of the country couldn’t be leveled by selling property to foreign investors. And that means the prospects of paying back loans is illusory.