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Who Does Pay for the Show?

51
Who Does Pay for the Show?

Officials keep spending the budget.

"Furniture made of elephant ivory, golden patina and velour. Chandeliers, a fountain and VIP-toilets of $600 thousand," this is not news of Forbes, but tenders announced by Belarusian officials.

"The Oval Hall" Lukashenka had his "message to the people and the Parliament" from will be repaired at $2.5 million. The repair works of the Supreme Court building will cost $600 thousand. Furniture for the Homel City Executive Committee will cost $50 thousand.

Charter97.org asked the representative of the Belarusian National Congress (BNC) in Slonim Viktar Marchyk what Belarusians thought about the desire of officials to live with luxuries:

- Living in style is not forbidden, but there is another point: who does pay for the show? There is a terrible tendency. What's the craving for luxury? We live in the center of Europe, and Belarusian officials have bad habits of courtiers from the palaces of Oriental padishahs.

Lukashenka says that there is no crisis, feeds us with beautiful promises, draws up round amounts of American currency. When you look at houses of officials, "deputies", one can also doubt there is the crisis in the country. It looks like the world behind the looking glass. Multi-storey cottages in Drazdy, expensive cars, but the real life is behind high fences of "Minsk Rublevka". An elderly woman with a miserable pension, a "sponger" who who has to support his family, entrepreneurs pushed over the edge.

There is no wonder that Lukashenka's inner circle resides in a special reservation, far from ordinary people. Does he do it not to hurt officials' psyche? Otherwise, it reminds of the ancient Indian legend about Prince Gautama, who spent all his life in the castle and never saw sufferings of people, and as soon as he witnessed it, he left the "Forbidden City".

And if our "Gautamas" from Drazdy see problems of the Belarusian, they will resign. And Lukashenka will talking to himself in the "Oval Hall".

Joking aside, I have no illusions about our officials. Such public procurement is the top of the cynicism and mendacity.

- Why our officials live the life European ones do not allow themselves. For example, it is decided to cut wages of deputies of the Polish Sejm by 20%, and the Cabinet has decided to restore benefits of the year 2017.

- it is wrong to compare the elected deputies with appointed ones.

A few years ago I addressed to MPs and offered them to transfer a part of their salaries for the treatment of children. If you read newspapers and watch TV, you can see cries for help. Some need a fountain in the Supreme Court, some seek money to treat a child.

You know, European politician also are fond of populism and try to show their best side. But our people in power do not even try to win the popularity and voices of people. They know that everything depends not on voters but higher ranks. I am not surprised why our people are not interested in politics and boycott the farce called "elections".

- Can the latest event in the world, for example in Armenia, make officials to think over their fragile position?

- They suffer short memory, and the history does not tolerate it. There is a simple example, which describes our officials: decree on "spongers", which caused protests last year. it would seem the law was failing, it would be wise to abolish it and apologize to the people. No way, it is amended; they tax patience of ordinary people. Our appointees throw stones in glass house they live in.

Officials should remember about the fate of the Romanian dictator whose wife used to fly to her personal hairdresser to Paris every week, and whose dog had a feeding delivered by the diplomatic mail from the UK.

The Romanian people were told to "tighten belts" to return the external debt. It happened that there was no heating in the winter. Everyone knows the end of the story.

You know, I would better buy our officials good textbooks on history rather then chandeliers and golden toilets, for them to avoid every thought about a feast in time of plague. And the Belarusian people will manifest themselves. Everything has its limits.

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