Фото: president.gov.by
Alyaksandr Lukashenka has again threatened crackdowns and prison terms. This time, his anger was directed at employees of agricultural enterprises over improper fertiliser storage.
During a visit to Mahiliou Region on April 14, Lukashenka said that when prices for mineral fertilisers were high on foreign markets, he had instructed producers to sell their products to Belarus’s agricultural sector at affordable prices.
Lukashenka recalled how he had set a condition for agricultural enterprises to store fertilisers properly, but cases of mismanagement had been uncovered. He accused agricultural workers of ruining the fertilisers and depriving the state of income.
“How am I supposed to react to this? I ‘took’ money away from producers, ‘took’ money away from the budget — we earned less, we could have sold it for five times more, received foreign currency — and gave it to you, and you ruined it!” Lukashenka said.
Lukashenka demanded that State Control Committee chairman Vasiliy Herasimau investigate the matter and imprison those responsible.
“Vasiliy Mikalayevich, look into this across the whole country and put them in prison. Enough joking around with them,” Lukashenka was quoted as saying by his press service.