The President of the Republic of Belarus considered personnel issues

On January 27, the President of the Republic of Belarus considered personnel matters. The Head of State gave his consent to the appointment of: Demidov Dmitry Vladimirovich as Chairman of the Novopolotsk City Executive Committee; Dranevsky Vladimir Alexandrovich as Chairman of the Braslav District Executive Committee; Zaryankin Vadim Vladimirovich as a member of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

During the personnel appointments, Alexander Lukashenko emphasized: “To say that you are coming to leadership positions at a difficult time is to say nothing. The times are very difficult both from an economic and political point of view. I will emphasize again that we, like many of our neighbors and other states, have not yet emerged from the economic crisis that has erupted in the world. We did not abandon our state to the depths of that crisis, although many suggested – well, the whole economy plunged, flew to the bottom, let us follow suit, and then we will calmly rise from there like others. We took a different path, we restrained the onslaught of this crisis, we protected people in every way, and naturally, we entered this crisis very gently. And now, due to the fact that this period has dragged on, we have to emerge from this crisis for a long time. Everything would be fine, we seemed to have found the path we should have taken. But external circumstances arose, especially at the end of last year – the collapse of the Russian market, the collapse of the Russian currency, and this is half of our exports, seriously affected our economy”.

The President assured that we will definitely overcome these crisis phenomena. According to him, very serious work is now underway to diversify the sales markets for Belarusian goods.

"The renewed government is working seriously in this direction. But we won't achieve anything here without your work on the ground. Because everything that benefits the state, brings happiness to the people, and wealth to this state is created where you will come to work tomorrow," - noted the Head of State.

Alexander Lukashenko also continued:

"The situation is not easy, but not catastrophic, and not even critical. Set specific tasks for your subordinates and ensure their execution. Without any foolishness, without any hasty actions, there's no need to brandish sabers, no need to invent anything. Remember that you have people under your command just like yourselves, with families they need to pay attention to."

The President also touched upon the issue of civil servants' salaries:

"We have a difficult situation with the remuneration of civil servants, primarily officials. We have never failed or lagged behind the average monthly wage in industry, nor has there ever been such a proportion to the average wage in the country. We are seriously lagging behind. But you understand that at this time, if we start to highlight the salaries of civil servants, we will receive an appropriate reaction from the people."

The Head of State believes that the salaries of civil servants should be increased, but through optimization, through reducing the state apparatus, and minimizing the functions that the state apparatus should perform. This is the only way forward, the President is convinced.

"

The economy will grow (believe me, no one will play populism), and a decent salary will be not only for you, but also for other people living in our country. Therefore, you just need to treat these processes humanely and understand them», - said Alexander Lukashenko.

He urged the appointees to act carefully and warned against rash actions. In particular, the President emphasized:

«I very much ask you, upon arrival at your posts, especially the chairmen of district executive committees, this is the most important thing - do not break firewood, give an opportunity, a chance to work to those people who are there. Set a deadline, say, 3 months, six months, those who can't handle it, say goodbye to them or transfer them to other work».

At the same time, the Head of State warned about careful treatment of people, including subordinates.

«Be very careful - you are on the front line. And besides, we have always focused on caring for people. Of course, before the presidential elections, we do not hide this, this work should be updated and attention should be focused specifically on people's needs. Pay attention to this - working with people becomes the cornerstone of your work», - noted Alexander Lukashenko.

Addressing the new heads of the local power vertical, he also touched upon the issue of discipline, especially in agriculture.

"I will not surprise you with anything, there is no need to teach anyone – there must be the strictest discipline, because you will continue to "carry on your shoulders" these negligent collectives, collective farms, state farms, agricultural production cooperatives or unitary enterprises," the President said."If you earned, you get paid; if you didn't earn, no one will carry anyone on their shoulders. Moreover, we have a minority of such enterprises left that cannot operate and are subject to deep reform, sale. Therefore, we have every opportunity to tell people: if you work, you will get paid. If there is no work, if you steal, embezzle farms as before – then you will get nothing. Therefore, you need to put pressure on those managers, labor collectives that will be under your control, and orient them towards normal work."

The Head of State also emphasized:

"I don't want to teach you anything, you know perfectly well what needs to be done on the ground. Just understand that the situation is not simple, and we must hold the country at all costs. Otherwise, we will slide into what is happening in some states, including our neighbors. This cannot be allowed. There is no need to say here that we are afraid of something. If we are afraid of anything, it is only for our country, to preserve it. This is what I personally fear, worry about, however you want to call it. We are not afraid of any threats. We must be afraid for the normal life of our people and the existence of our state. And you and I will have to do this."

Alexander Lukashenko thanked the new leaders for agreeing to work in these difficult positions and at this difficult time. He noted that the state will help as much as possible, but one should primarily rely on one's own strength.

Official Internet Portal of the President of the Republic of Belarus