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Ruler Lukashenko: "Any increase in prices is prohibited from October 6"
Photo:
Peter Kovalev / ITAR-TASS / IMAGO
What doesn't fit is made to fit: the Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko wants to take action against price increases in his country.
Not with a changed economic policy or aid programs, but by decree.
'Any price hike is forbidden after October 6th.
Forbidden,” said Lukashenko, according to the state news agency Belta.
The order applies with immediate effect so that nobody can use a remaining period to increase prices after all, said the 68-year-old.
Lukashenko instructed the Prosecutor General and the Chairman of the State Control Committee to monitor that the order was implemented.
Anyone who acts contrary to it should be arrested immediately and prosecuted.
However, Lukashenko did not want to completely rule out the possibility that price increases would also be necessary in some areas in the future.
However, this requires approval from the Ministry of Antitrust and Trade or the local administration.
According to the National Statistics Office, inflation in Belarus was 17.9 percent in August compared to the same month last year.
Food prices in particular rose significantly.
According to forecasts by Belarusian economic experts, the inflation rate could rise to as much as 19 percent by the end of the year.
Inflation is also rising in many EU countries, including Germany: The Federal Statistical Office estimates the inflation rate at 10.0 percent in September.
In August, after two months of slight relaxation, the annual rate had already risen to 7.9 percent.
Inflation rates at the current level have never existed in reunified Germany.
There were similarly high values in the 1970s during the oil crisis in the old Federal Republic.
asa/dpa
