MINSK, 21 December (BelTA) – A lot of work should be done in Gomel Oblast to build human resource capacity, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said when appointing Ivan Krupko as Gomel Oblast governor, BelTA has learned.
According to the head of state, Ivan Krupko possesses all the necessary personal and professional qualities to address the tasks facing him in his new role. “You have everything. You are not too meek. You are an achiever,” Aleksandr Lukashenko noted.
“You will need to deal with personnel issues there, to hand-pick a team. We have talked about it more than once, you have also noted that the governor needs to select people for key positions in the regional government. Nobody will restrict you in this,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
The president noted that having worked as the agriculture and food minister Ivan Krupko is well aware of the country's agricultural industry, including in Gomel Oblast. “You know the problems of the domestic agricultural complex not worse than the current governor. If you need a consultation, he will share his expertise and knowledge with you. He will not go anywhere, he will keep working,” the head of state said.
As for the manufacturing industry, one of the region's economic mainstays, the newly appointed governor will be able to count on Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Nazarov, who is also the president's authorized representative in Gomel Oblast. “What I particularly like about this personnel decision is that you will work there together with Yuri Nazarov. He recommended you (not only he, many did, but his opinion was decisive). He told me: Mr Lukashenko, I will talk to him [Ivan Krupko] and will lend him a helping hand in the manufacturing industry,” the president said.
“Put together a team, and Nazarov will lend a shoulder. He is absolutely down to earth, with no pretensions. He took up all kinds of tasks and fulfilled them. I think it will be a good support for you, especially when it comes to manufacturing,” the head of state added.
After all, the plants in Mozyr and Zhlobin [Mozyr Oil Refinery and Belarusian Steelworks] employ thousands of people. Or take Gomel for example, it is packed with industrial enterprises. There is also Gomselmash. Rechitsa is in the north. As to the south of the region, we have talked about it with Lyakhov [Belorusneft Director Aleksandr Lyakhov], you will have to interact with him a lot. He begins to revive old wells. I didn't even know about it. They are plugged, closed. He showed me: he unplugs them and he gets oil using modern technology,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that national projects running in Gomel Oblast are highly beneficial for the region.
With regard to agriculture, the head of state noted that Gomel Oblast needs to come to grips with crop rotation issues and to avoid an excessive focus on corn alone, even though this crop is important for the region. “We need to try to cultivate something else there, like fruit, orchards, vegetables apart from corn,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.
He assured that the central government will try to help the region, including with the creation of agricultural complexes. Meanwhile, the task of regional authorities is to clearly define where and how to establish them, select and hire people, especially in agricultural towns.
An important task in this regard is to provide animal husbandry with fodder and prevent offenses. “We need to procure enough fodder, deal with the loss of cattle and theft there. Tomorrow I will talk about it with regional officials again. Law enforcement agencies will also be involved,” the president said.
“It is necessary to put things in order in the region, to fix crop rotation, to tap into the potential of the manufacturing industry and cities in order to give a boost to agriculture. This will be your task. And if you have already made a decision, go ahead and do it. Now we have a warlike time. We do not need red tape and bureaucracy,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said setting the task.
