MINSK, 4 March (BelTA) – Both the government and government bodies need to talk less and do more, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he made new appointments on 4 March, BelTA has learned.
Appointing Anatoly Sivak as Deputy Prime Minister to monitor construction, transportation and utilities services, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the major tasks were well known to everyone. “You know what to do in the construction sector, the utilities services, and other areas. I ask you to be proactive, to ensure less coordination, less regulations, and more work,” the president said.
The president reminded the deputy prime minister of the waste recycling issue: “We have “gold” under our feet. We must ensure up to 70% of waste recycling in the country.”
Anatoly Sivak has a new minister on the team. Aleksandr Studnev, who held the position of the chairman of the Mogilev City Executive, will now head the Architecture and Construction Ministry.
“I would like you to help him get up to speed, because there used to be enough bureaucrats and bribetakers there. I don't know the current state of affairs there. I guess they haven't gone anywhere,” the head of state said. “We made a lot of decisions on construction - both roads and housing. Starting from villages, rental housing and ending with Minsk. We should stop large construction projects in Minsk and build something only when there is absolute necessity. We need to implement construction projects where we launch production, and it is especially true for the regions.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized the need to pay special attention to the road construction and maintenance: “Without good roads, no one will choose to move to the village and even buy a cheap little house with a half-hectare plot of land. If there are roads, people will move there.”
Speaking about the utilities sector, the president stressed that this sector receives most customer complaints. “There are different complaints and there are different reasons. But there is no smoke without fire. You need to manage this sector. You need to act as it was done in Soviet times. Do not wait for some instructions, some normative legal acts. Do not say that it is the responsibility of governors or local authorities. You are the minister. You need to manage everything there,” the head of state said addressing Housing and Utilities Minister Gennady Trubilo.
Speaking in general about the organization of work in the regions, Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed to draft a decree that would transfer some of his powers to local authorities.
“It is necessary to prepare a draft decree so that governors do not have to address me on every matter: parallel design, construction and so on. Let them make decisions on the ground. If it is really necessary, they will coordinate with deputy prime ministers, since we have upgraded their status. So you will coordinate with them, and we will oversee these matters, except for land allocation, because land is sacred and these matters will remain within the purview of the president for now. And let them make decisions on everything else,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
“There are currently a lot of formalities in this work. In most cases I uphold requests of local authorities. Let them make decisions. We need to relieve the president of unnecessary functions and consider transferring these powers downwards. In extreme cases, a minister, a deputy prime minister will step in to make such decisions. This should be done within 24 hours, let the governors and local authorities decide on construction matters on their own,” the president added.
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