What proposals did the residents of Vitebsk submit to the regional public reception office?
The reception was conducted by Tatyana Avtukova, Deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, together with representatives of the main departments of justice, education, and the regional organization of the public association of veterans. Some citizens used telephone communication to voice their pressing issues.
For example, Natalya Korolyova from Polotsk proposed to toughen the law on mass events and to provide additional measures for the protection of law enforcement officers. She also touched upon medical services in Polotsk. In her opinion, there are not enough medical institutions to serve the urban population, which became particularly noticeable during the spread of coronavirus infection. Despite the fact that doctors show examples of self-sacrifice and work to the point of exhaustion, there is a shortage of narrow specialists. The resident of Polotsk asked to pay special attention to the training of such specialists and to measures that would stimulate young personnel to stay in the region.
Leonid Sosnovsky, an 88-year-old resident of the village of Purplevo, Senno district, proposed to amend the Electoral Code, in particular, to elect heads of city and district executive committees instead of appointing them. He expressed gratitude to the local authorities for the good organization of the work of mobile shops – a highly sought-after service for villagers.
Regarding the election of heads of administrations and districts, Tatyana Avtukova noted that it is important not to overdo it in this matter. This could lead to the election of housing and communal services managers (jokes aside, this is also proposed), and our society could be overwhelmed by a permanent electoral process.
However, the proposal by Anatoly Prusakov, a former minor prisoner from Vitebsk, deserves attention. Veterans are passing away, and there are not many eyewitnesses to the Great Patriotic War left. Former minor prisoners are ready to participate more actively in the patriotic education of the younger generation, visiting schools and various events. But traveling from one settlement to another is costly. Introducing preferential travel for this category is a proposal that will be submitted for consideration to the parliamentary commission on labor and social issues.
There are 11 types of social support for citizens of different categories in Belarus.
Vladimir Kul from Vitebsk proposed to amend the Law on Privatization of the Housing Stock, adopted in 1992. After all, many have not yet used their "Imushchestvo" (Property) vouchers. This is because the old version of the law stipulated that only those on the waiting list for housing improvement could dispose of the vouchers.
– I propose to allow any citizen to use the vouchers. My daughter lives in Minsk and could use my vouchers for housing construction. Therefore, the law needs to be amended, – believes Vladimir Mikhailovich.
This proposal will be forwarded to the commission on housing policy.
A group of young people led by Denis Latysh intends to register a public association called "Rodina" (Motherland). At the reception, they expressed their disagreement with the mask mandate, stating that there are many people with respiratory problems, and masks infringe upon their rights.
– You can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus and spread it, endangering the health of others and thereby infringing upon their interests. So, everyone should wear masks in public places, and no one is forced to wear them on the street, – explained Tatyana Anatolyevna.
As a member of the Standing Commission on Education, Culture, and Science, Tatyana Avtukova was particularly interested in proposals to improve the education system. Often, there are accusations that Belarus positions itself as an IT country, but failed to switch to distance learning during the pandemic. Indeed, Tatyana Anatolyevna emphasized, the coronavirus caught many off guard, there was no unified learning platform, but each educational institution found its own solutions. Now a unified platform has been created, and from January 2021, a switch to remote learning is possible if necessary.
However, as one young mother noted at the reception, she is against such training, as personal contact with the teacher cannot be replaced by any, even the most perfect system.
100 gifted students from the Vitebsk region receive scholarships from the "Special Fund of the President," there are seven "schools of the future" in the region, seven resource centers have been created, and in some schools in Novopolotsk, Chashniki, Glubokoye, and in four Vitebsk schools, pre-conscription training centers for youth have been opened.
Among the ten received appeals were also personal matters concerning employment and court proceedings.
– All issues are important, no one dismisses them, – emphasized Tatyana Avtukova. – There are other forms for this – personal receptions, "hotlines," which deputies hold monthly.
The people's chosen representative expressed a wish that citizens would submit more constructive proposals concerning the socio-economic and political life of society to the regional public reception for collecting initiatives on issues of constitutional reform and pressing country's problems.