Sole entrepreneurs who gathered at a forum in Minsk on Monday urged Alyaksandr Lukashenka to examine the professional competence of the trade, economy and tax ministers.
More than 200 sole entrepreneurs from across Belarus took part in the forum to discuss restrictions on retail sales of beer, the possibility of assisting domestic producers in selling out their stocks and contribution to the government`s efforts to tackle the impact of the global economic crisis.
The All-Belarusian Summit of Entrepreneurs "For the Right to Enterprise!" was organized by a small business association called Perspektyva.
In a resolution adopted as a result of the meeting, the delegates call on the authorities to lift the ban on the employment by sole entrepreneurs of people other than their close relatives, allow owners of kiosks and other small retail units without shopping floor to sell beer and return kiosks to the streets of Minsk.
They also call for an end to "the practice of goods seizures and big fines," and for a two-year moratorium on audits of entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs are ready to help domestic producers reduce their stocks of unsold goods and create new jobs, the resolution reads.
They are also ready to contribute to the local authorities’ treasuries and "help people survive the difficult times by offering affordable and quality goods," it says. "We are ready to do it, but there should be no pressure and no prices, quotas, employment rules or payment schemes should be imposed on us."
The delegates say that they back "a genuine partnership between businesses and the government" but oppose "the simulation of support for businesses."
"We reserve the right to defend our constitutional rights and promote our civic stance by all legal means including strikes and demonstrations, if the demands and proposals voiced at the summit are ignored," the resolution says.
Copies of the resolution will be sent to the Presidential Administration, the Council of Ministers, the regional executive committees and the Minsk City Executive Committee, Perspektyva leader Anatol Shumchanka told BelaPAN.
