B. Batura called on local council deputies to show more initiative

May 12, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Local council deputies should show more initiative and activity in adopting and implementing state programs. This was stated by the Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus, Boris Batura, today at the first session of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies of the 26th convocation, according to a BELTA correspondent. The head of state, in his Address to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly, paid serious attention to the section on local self-government and formulated the tasks facing it. At the Third All-Belarusian People's Congress, councils were also named as one of the pillars of presidential power, Boris Batura recalled. "That is why deputies must understand that they bear the same responsibility for the implementation of socio-economic programs and industry development programs as the executive branch," he stressed. When adopting certain programs, the executive branch turns to the corps of deputies for their approval. However, often in both primary and regional councils, these projects are not analyzed from the perspective of the mandates given to deputies by voters, and there is no evidence-based discussion of the feasibility of these projects, the speaker of the upper house stated, citing examples from his own experience. "However, such a discussion is one of the steps to protect the implemented programs and the reality of their execution," he is convinced. Control by deputies over the implementation of adopted projects is also important. "If there is no interest from below in the implementation of adopted programs, they will not provide an active boost," believes Boris Batura. In his opinion, the lack of deputy interest and initiative is particularly evident in the implementation of the program for the development of small and medium-sized cities, which concerns the entire corps of deputies. However, not a single deputy has come up with an initiative to create, for example, an enterprise. But this program allows local councils to actually attract funds to the budget, believes Boris Batura. The lack of deputy initiative also affected the implementation of Decree No. 21 "On Enhancing the Role of Local Government and Self-Government Bodies." Rural councils did not fully take advantage of the opportunities provided by the decree, although their main task is to work on solving the problems of ensuring the population's livelihood. Boris Batura, addressing the newly elected deputies of the regional council, urged them to show more activity in solving issues of economic development, industry, agriculture, and issues of ensuring the population's livelihood. -0-