NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
MINSK, 10 March (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko gave instructions related to the social sectors at a meeting of the Council of Ministers drawing the attention of government officials to a number of important topics, BelTA has learned.
"I want to draw your attention to the social dimension. You say that we will build healthcare facilities, schools and so on. You know, the situation in healthcare and education is not critical in this regard," the head of state said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that enough such social facilities have already been built in the country, and today the task is to complete the construction of those that have been started. But the most important thing is to put things in order everywhere. One example is the shortcomings in the work of healthcare institutions which have been identified by the new interdepartmental working group. "There are some shortcomings in healthcare. I would like the minister to team up with the group that is now traveling throughout the country," the Belarusian leader said.
"Enough of these hospitals. We need to sort things out. We have started to build facilities in some places (in Grodno and other regions). Let's finish and not get into new construction projects. Especially schools," the president said.
Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko reported that the relevant instructions of the head of state are already being implemented: "We must complete all the projects that are currently underway. Yes, there are exceptions in terms of kindergartens. Twelve kindergartens were built last year. These are really large neighborhoods in large cities. But we understand your requirement. It's absolutely realistic to do."
In this regard, the president spoke against building schools in settlements that are smaller than agro-towns. It is much more expedient to organize the transportation of children from small villages to an educational institution in an agro-town that has the necessary educational base. "One teacher teaching math, physics and other subjects for different-age kids. What kind of teaching is this? What will we teach children? Therefore, it is better to drive children to an agro-town that has a kindergarten, a school. Let's not waste money," the head of state said.
Another demand of the president is to establish order in hospitals, both in maintenance and personnel. Aleksandr Lukashenko mentioned opportunities for employer-sponsored training of specialists and the need to take additional measures to ensure these specialists work in the regions.
Summing up the discussion on social issues, the president addressed Chairperson of the National Assembly Natalya Kochanova and set the task to assess the situation in this area. “You know this area very well. We need to take a serious and objective look at the social sector. We need to set up a group of people to do this work,” the Belarusian leader said.
Regional development is impossible without maintaining the necessary infrastructure, including roads. “Roads are an extremely important task for us today. Everyone uses a car. Some issues need to be resolved in the housing and utilities sector. The deputy prime minister has reported to me that he is supervising the provision of concrete roads in every village. Concrete, not asphalt. Asphalt do not last long. And in general, we agreed to use more cement for it. This task is not being fulfilled,” the head of state said.
As for schools, Aleksandr Lukashenko demands a well-thought approach, taking into account trends in the development of regions: “We need to make roads where it is necessary in the first place. If there is a village with two people, it will be enough to improve the roads there. There is no need to lay concrete there. We need to make new concrete roads in agro-towns, district centers - where it is very necessary and where people will live tomorrow. That is the only way we should act.”
As for housing, Aleksandr Lukashenko reiterated that the state would primarily support military families and families with many children. “Let us build housing for families with three, four, five children. They are helping to solve the main problem for us. Therefore, we need to build housing, and at the same time ensure that people also invest their own money,” he said. “The waiting lists to improve the housing conditions will be first of all for those who have no right to do business. I am talking about the military. We deprived them of everything. We need to provide them at least with an apartment. This is not big money. This issue with housing for the military will be solved in a year and a half or two years,” he added.
