Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich stressed the importance of cost saving and efficiency while presenting government awards to a group of people on Wednesday by order of Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
Belarus has slightly more than 2.5 million people employed in the "sphere of material production," a little over two million people employed in the "social sphere," 2.5 million retired people and roughly as many students, Mr. Myasnikovich said, according to the Council of Ministers press office. "Thus, we have to count every cent," he said. "The most important thing is to use budgetary funds efficiently. We should spend all funds are every workplace and every organization very carefully."
As for salaries and wages, the government believes that people should earn their pay, Mr. Myasnikovich said, adding that the government was not aiming to bring pay to a certain level. He said that the purchasing power of pay, that is, the amount of goods and services people could buy with their money, was the most important thing. In terms of the purchasing power, living standards in Belarus are no worse than in Russia and slightly better than in Ukraine. Mr. Myasnikovich said.
