Director of the Department of pricing policy of the Belarusian Ministry of Economy Igor Fomin said on February 10 that the increase of tariffs for housing services in Belarus was preceded by an "anticipatory" increased wages, pensions and benefits. At the same time he stressed that utility services' rates rose last on January 1, 2009.
The official also added that the tariff increase had been implemented within a framework, outlined by the president. «If we compare the size of revenue growth and recent increases in tariffs, citizens will still have growth in real incomes at the bottom line,» he said, BelTA informs.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Economy, further tariff increases will be driven by the economic situation in the country. «If there is growth, it will be supported by rising real incomes,» he said.
According to Igor Fomin, the proportion of the municipal services’ costs is about 10% of total household expenditure, while in the EU countries the cost of housing services reaches 30%. In this case, the official agreed that in Belarus and the EU’s level of income is incomparable.
As Telegraf previously reported, according to Decree № 138 of the Council of Ministers of Belarus of February 4, new tariffs for public utilities were set in Belarus on February 1. The Ministry of Economy reported that the average payments for utility services (per family of three living in a two room apartment with total area of 48 square meters) would rise $5 up.
