MINSK, 19 November (BelTA) – Chairpersons of district executive committees work below their capacity, Belarusian President, Chairman of the Belarusian People's Congress Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the session of the Presidium of the Belarusian People's Congress on 19 November, BelTA has learned.
One of the items on the agenda of the meeting was raising the status of chairpersons of district executive committees in order to strengthen their role in regional development. The corresponding draft decree was submitted to the president for consideration, and he decided to discuss it at a meeting of the Presidium with senior officials, heads of regional executive committees in attendance.
“We have everything in place to come to grips with this issue once and for all. The status of chairpersons of district executive committees is an important issue. You have probably often heard (I have often said this) that chairpersons of district executive committees are not involved the way they should be. They do not have enough workload,” the Belarusian leader said.
He noted that the criterion here is the president's One District - One Project initiative. Not all local officials work effectively to implement this instruction: “This is [an indicator of] the effectiveness of our government, from the president to the governors. We will revisit this issue.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko spoke separately about the role of district executive committee heads in personnel matters. “We need a comprehensive document. A chairperson of a district executive committee should use it as a manual,” the head of state emphasized. “A chairperson is a chairperson. They should be involved in everything. It is okay if he/she to some extent appoints, approves, and coordinates heads of private structures. In this case they will have more leverage,” he noted.
The president made an important clarification. The proposal to increase the scope of powers pertains to district executive committees rather than to chairpersons of these committees. “A chairperson introduces proposals, and an executive committee approves them. Well, chairpersons make decisions on certain things. They are chairpersons of executive committees. They are, figuratively speaking, presidents in their domain, as I say. But they are not presidents in the proper sense of this word. The same is about the prime minister. He is the head of government, he has certain powers, but he personally cannot pass any regulatory legal act. He runs the government, manages its work, and so on. This is the prime minister's business. And regulatory legal acts are the government's responsibility (we have the Presidium and the Council of Ministers). We should not confuse responsibilities. We should not create a vertical of dictatorship from the president to a chairperson of a village council. This is a line in the sand. We should not cross this line under any circumstances,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
Personnel issues are of paramount importance, the head of state emphasized. “There is no political party, no district or regional party committee [reference to the Soviet-era personnel appointment system]. These decisions are made here. One person should not have all the power, even a chairperson. Yes, this person can bring up any issue, discuss it, make a point, try to get it through, but an executive committee makes decisions on all the personnel they hire. What's wrong if they approve a head of a district police office, a head of the Emergencies Ministry department and others. They have the right to reject candidacies. But a chairperson of a regional executive committee can appoint people to such roles and bear responsibility for such appointments. This is your right. You have the right not to approve candidates. I might take this into consideration. This principle must be used. This is rooted in reality,” the president said.
“But if we want a district to be managed properly, we should not excessively limit the power of chairpersons of district executive committees. If a person feels powerless, he/she will not do their job well,” the Belarusian leader remarked.
Aleksandr Lukashenko once again emphasized that the final decision should be formalized in a normative legal act, and not a protocol of instructions, so that local authorities bear responsibility for what they do.
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