Updated at 17:53,27-03-2024

Voters Shocked at Salaries of Directors

Charter-97

While the authorities promise common citizens a $500 salary, certain "not common" citizens receive payment which is seven times more.

The newspaper "Gomelskie Vedomosti" published a list of candidates to the city council and their income records. The richest people’s servant is 46-year old prorector of Skaryna Homel State University Syarhei Hanenya (almost 130 million rubles for 2009). According to the current exchange rate, this is 44,000 dollars. Thus, the pro-rector earns 3600 dollars per month, the newspaper "Narodnaya Volya": writes.

A competitor of the scientist-millionaire is 73-year old oppositionist, a representative of the Left Party "Fair World" Anatol Illyinchyk, whose year’s pension is less than monthly salary of his rival.

80 candidates run for 40 seats in the Homal city council. 11 constituencies have only one candidate, which allows saying a name of a city council member even today. Taking into account amendments to the Electoral Code, the elections can be recognized valid even if only a candidate will vote for him or for her. For example, if director of the trading house "Rechitski" Nina Narkevich, who earns 55 million per year, votes, she can be considered an elected council member.

The acting chairman of the city council Uladzimir Charnashtan, 62, has no rivals in his constituency. The official’s income for the last year was about 4 million rubles per month.

None of the oppositionists didn’t dare compete with director of a chemicals plant Ihar Lyashenka, 36, whose income amounts to 92 million.

Though the authorities registered all oppositionists who wanted to run in the elections in the remaining 29 constituencies, a winner in each constituency can be defined even now.

The deal is that opposition plays along with officials and directors. For example, two candidates were registered in Levaberezhny constituency #16 – head of administration of Navabelitski district of Homel Mikalai Hrytsenka and unemployed member of the United Civil Party Aksana Bas, who doesn’t have income (try to guess who will win). Unemployed oppositionist from the UCP party Syarhei Kasabutski will compete with executive officer of Belprombank Halina Kasaverskaya, whose year’s income amounts to 66 million rubles.

The public would never learn about salaries of other directors, if it were not for the elections. Distillery’s director general Halina Kardasyova reported about 84 million of her income. Queen of sweets, the director of confectionery plant "Spartak" Alesya Samsonava (81 million) is only a step behind the queen of spirits.

By the way, Lukashenka’s official income is more modest than one of some directors.

In 2005, he told in an interview to TVC channel that he earns "1000 or 1100 dollars". In 2006, he reported about 59,179,000 rubles in his income declaration, which makes about 2.3 million dollars per month.

According to the National Statistics Committee, the country’s average salary was 1,016,400 rubles for February 2010, which is a little more than 300 dollars.