An Economist Told About The Scam In The Housing And Utilities Sector In Belarus
- 12.06.2025, 17:19
The authorities tell tales of subsidization.
Belarus has recently entered the top countries with the lowest communal costs. Economist Andrzej Makhovski explained why one should not be happy about it.
In the Numbeo rating, our country is located in 98th place out of 124.
- The state media were very proud of this rating, saying how affordable our communal services are. But they quickly realized that it's not very good, because Belarusian neighbors in this rating are such countries as Zimbabwe and Nigeria," says Mahovsky on the air of "Euroradio".
- When talking about the availability of utilities, one should also compare salaries. If the average salary in Poland is $2400, and a Pole pays $300 for communal services (for a conventional apartment of 85 m²), he has $2100 on his hands. If a Belarusian pays $50 from an average salary of $870, he has $820.
The economist notes that cheap utilities are found in poor countries, because people have nothing to pay for it. And in the context of Belarus it's also important to know how the prices for utilities are formed:
- Belarusians pay for utilities at the rate of 24 rubles per 1 Gcal. 1000 cubic meters of gas allows generating 8 Gcal. At the same time, the economically justified tariff in Belarus is 132 rubles per 1 Gcal.
So, if we recalculate the price of gas by the number of gigacalories, it turns out that the authorities consider the economically justified tariff, at which 1000 cubic meters of gas should cost $350. But Belarus buys it at $128. This is a normal markup for those who are considered "deadbeats" (they pay the economically justified tariff).
Everybody else's payment for utilities is indeed subsidized, but at the expense of enterprises. Enterprises receive gas from the state at a price of $220. At the same time, the state buys it at $128. So the markup is enormous. We have MART fines if someone allowed a 15% markup, so the state allows even more.
That is, relatively cheap prices for utilities are taken at the expense of robbing those who are forced to pay higher rates.
This cross-subsidization means that you are not paid extra wages at the factory, because the factory is forced to pay higher prices.
So the stories about Belarusians not paying extra for utilities are all fairy tales, concludes Andrei Makhovsky.
- Belarusians pay for utilities, but not directly, but with salaries, which are not paid to them by companies and factories, because they are forced to pay for gas and electricity at highly inflated rates. If we honestly say - let's all pay the same, then the state will not be able to act as a benefactor.