BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

19/03/2008

Lukashenko slams Customs Committee for corruption

MINSK. March 19 (Interfax) - The levels of corruption in the agencies of the Belarusian Customs Committee are unacceptable and a cancer for the country, President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"This manifests failures in the work of the State Customs Committee. Corruption has grown from a chronic disease into a cancer. The Customs Committee needs to radically clear its ranks of rust," Lukashenko said at a conference with law enforcement and security officials.

"The introduction of the new Customs Code has not simplified the customs clearance procedures, and the development of new regulations in the customs area has been dragged out unjustifiably," he said.

"We should not shut ourselves off from the outer world but we should ensure essential preconditions for Belarus' painless integration into the global economy. Our near prospects are the continued development of cooperation with the EU and WTO members, and the work done by our customs officers and border guards should facilitate this," he said.

Source:

http://www.interfax.com/3/375844/news.aspx

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