MINSK, 7 November (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko talked with media as he visited the wood chopping challenge among journalists. During an informal conversation on impromptu chairs made of wooden decks, the head of state fielded a number of topical questions from journalists, BelTA has learned.
Aleksandr Lukashenko touched upon the Belarusian People's congress. This body, according to the updated Basic Law, has been given a constitutional status, and the bill on the congress has been recently submitted to a public debate.
The head of state responded to some speculations that this is done allegedly to retain power. "Look, it's not about me. Today it's about our children. We should leave them a normal country. Our generation should create a system," he said.
The president stated that the current system in the country is not bad and is working quite well. As an example, he cited the response to distortions in pricing. "Once you apply pressure from above, the entire vertical of power lines up. True, that there were some shortcomings, but it lined up. Not just the vertical of power. Business entities too: both state and private. These are the actions of the government. It is normal. But it cannot be changeless, static. It has to improve. I understand that, and not just because I see the world around me. I understand that we need to move forward. In general, people need to see this movement,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The head of state underlined that innovations should be based on what can be done both in the economic and political sectors at the moment. For example, Belarus has already had six Belarusian People's Congress meetings during the years of independence. “Why not make it constitutional, why not strengthen its role, why not listen to people there, at this forum? It is better to do it not in the street, but there, at the forum. Let us move in this direction,” he cited an example.
The same approach in the economy. “If we can manage the enterprises, let us manage them. If we cannot, let us think what to do, up to privatization or sale,” said Aleksandr Lukashenko.
He said that state-owned enterprises are set up in the country, too, adding that as practice shows, a private enterprise does not always mean better and more efficiently work. One such example is the company in Miory, where the head of state had to intervene to deal with its issues: “The company works well. If a state-owned enterprise can work, let it work. It is not right to think that private business is the best option for economy to operate. Yes, there are people who work well.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko also pointed out that in Belarus, alike in Western Europe, it is much easier for private business to get access to the authorities to discuss certain problems. “Remote office hours are an anachronism in Belarus. Nobody does it anywhere. This is the way we hear the people, we listen to our people,” the head of state said.
