ZHITKOVICHI, 7 November (BelTA) - During a working trip to Zhitkovichi District on 7 November, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko revealed his plans to hear a report on the implementation of the Polesie development program in the near future, BelTA has learned.
“We haven't spoiled anything in Polesie [through land reclamation]. We did not turn Polesie into a drained land. We only created fields for agricultural production where it was possible and established collective and state farms. Today, we are building modern agricultural enterprises on this foundation,” the president said.
He acknowledged that the region has generally seen progress. “Having flown here from Minsk, I can say that in many areas, there is simply nothing to find fault with,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
At the same time, the head of state pointed out that in some areas, not all available land is under cultivation. He stressed the importance of working this land to prevent it from becoming overgrown. “We have everything we need to bring the reclaimed fields, in which billions of Soviet rubles were once invested, into good condition,” he said.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, a new program for the development of the Polesie areas is under implementation. The head of state plans to hear a report on this topic in the near future. “We will invest money in a targeted manner. There will be no irrational spending,” the president emphasized.
First, the state is determined to invest in solving large-scale tasks - such as building infrastructure, including roads, land reclamation, and developing agro-towns with comfortable living conditions for people, and so on. Local issues, however, must be resolved locally. In this, a significant role is assigned to the local authorities. For instance, the president said the Gomel Oblast governor to keep even such districts as Zhitkovichi in his sights.
“I wouldn’t say Zhitkovichi is neglected. I wouldn’t say they haven't started to work (so long as it’s not just for show). They’ve plowed small roadside plots that had never been cultivated before. We need to bring this land into crop rotation. We need to put everything in order,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “I do not see any major problems in Zhitkovichi. It’s a sizable town, a good town, with prospects.”
An important point the president stressed when addressing officials and enterprise managers is the payment of wages to workers. “Even if a manager is on his last breath and has a single copeck to his name, it must go to the workers. Wages must be paid, whatever it takes, using every available resource, even if the company is operating at a loss,” the head of state stressed.
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