Open Discussion “Results of Small-Scale Privatisation 2011: A Socio-Economic Analysis”

On 30 March, Gallery Ў will host an open discussion on the topic “Results of Small-Scale Privatisation 2011: A Socio-Economic Analysis”.

Since last year, the State Property Privatisation Programme for 2011-2013 has begun to be implemented. It provides for the denationalisation of more than 200 state-owned assets. These are mainly medium-sized and small joint-stock companies; the sale of their shares is conducted through auctions and does not require the approval of the President. During the first year of the programme, 38 of the 180 state-owned assets planned for privatisation were transferred into private hands. The process was accompanied by the publication of a large body of data on the economic condition of enterprises and on the age and educational composition of their employees.
Independent researchers, experts and interested citizens will discuss the successes, failures and possible consequences of the privatisation programme.

Independent researchers Tatsiana Chyzhova, Dzmitry Isaionak and Lidziya Mikheyeva, together with experts, will discuss the following issues:

• Characteristics of the assets being privatised. What kind of property did the Belarusian state try to part with in 2011?
• The first results of the auctions. Successes and failures of the 2011 Privatisation Programme. The most in-demand sectors, buyers and price dynamics.
• The social dimension of the privatisation process. Socio-demographic characteristics of employees at enterprises put up for sale. Possible social consequences of privatisation.
• Extra-small-scale privatisation: the denationalisation of municipal property and the sale of unused assets in the regions.

Venue: Gallery Ў (37a Nezavisimosti Ave.). Start: 18:30
Contact: [email protected]