Leanid Zaika: Nomenclatura privatisation misfires

Lukashenka finally understood that setting up the MAZ-KaMAZ holding company will not lead to positive changes in economy.

Leanid Zaika, the head of the analytical centre Strategy, talked to charter97.org about Lukashenka's critical remarks on selling Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) and Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant.

“We have been hearing talks about privatisation of large enterprises for a long time. Everyone likes to talk in Belarus, but the greatest talkers are those who don't understand the matter. Mikhail Miasnikovich wrote his thesis on financial industrial groups. It had happened before he was appointed prime minister. The fresh graduate of the Ph.D. programme in economics decided to implement his ideas in practice. A model of holding companies appeared in the government. Miasnikovich's strategy is useful for those who want to run such a company and then take it over quickly and gracefully, as they always do,” the expert says.

He stressed that the government started with the study of how the PM's ideas could be implemented, but later media published assessments of the process by professional economists.

“The assessments said that this kind of privatisation through holding companies was a variant of the nomenclatura privatisation. Lukashenka took the side of independent economists and some opposition politicians and began to hinder spreading the ideas of privatisation through holding companies. Articles of some specialists, including me, noted that KaMAZ didn't sell a single truck abroad in 2012 and KaMAZ's products are unable to withstand competition in the international market, while Belarusian MAZ can export its trucks.  

This point of view influenced the position of the head of state. Lukashenka took these opinions into consideration and made negative remarks on this kind of privatisation, which, of course, will not lead to positive changes in economy. The subject of discussion is not small holding companies inside the country, but MAZ, oil refineries and the potash company. The government has not proposed any good ideas regarding them so far,” Leanid Zaika said.

It should be reminded that the Belarusian ruler harshly criticised attempts of Russian businessmen to obtain control over MAZ and Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant in his Friday's address to the nation and the “parliament”.