Alyaksandr Lukashenka on August 14 appointed Andrey Kharkavets as finance minister of Belarus.
Mr. Kharkavets was first deputy finance minister appointed as acting minister five months ago when the then minister, Mikalay Korbut, had an apoplectic stroke. Mr. Korbut had been finance minister since May 1997.
When addressing Mr. Kharkavets following the appointment, Mr. Lukashenka called for the thrift use of funds. "We should be 'greedy' for money," the Belarusian leader's press office quoted him as saying. "That is the job of any minister. You should keep money in your hands to the bitter end and give it away only after making sure that the result will be good."
"Presidents are always more prodigal than prime ministers or governments as a whole. But we have the opposite," he said.
The Belarusian leader stressed that Mr. Kharkavets should remember in his work that he was a "man of the president" in the government and should not "splash money."
