The Vitebsk District Council of Deputies discussed proposals received from work collectives on improving legislation
We are accustomed to having deputies of local Councils, whom citizens approach when they need to resolve a particular issue. The deputies, in turn, make inquiries to the district leadership. Elders also raise similar issues at the local level. As practice shows, they are even more aware of local problems than deputies.
– Do deputies and elders not perform the same functions? Let's analyze this issue, – invited Vladimir Terentyev, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies, to a discussion.
– It seems to me that the deputy corps has outlived itself, – stated Alexander Izobov, Chairman of the Yanovichsky Village Executive Committee, unequivocally. – Both deputies and elders accumulate people's opinions and requests, conveying them to the leadership. And the chairmen of executive committees cannot resolve them, as they lack financial resources. The head of the farm comes to the rescue, who is also, as a rule, a deputy. And if he leaves for a new appointment, then who will solve local problems?
– I will say more: it is very difficult to find a person who would agree to perform deputy functions in the countryside, – supported his colleague Leonid Dubina, Chairman of the Mazolovsky Village Executive Committee. – And there are more than a dozen such people in one Council alone. – I am in favor of keeping the institution of elders.
– The functions of deputies and elders are similar, they duplicate each other. I will say this: reduce the deputy corps, and the chairmen of executive committees should be appointed, – emphasized the most experienced among the heads of local Councils, Yuri Osipov, Chairman of the Voronovsky Village Executive Committee.
– Unfortunately, the status of a local deputy is increasingly devalued, – noted Denis Zhavoronkov, Chairman of the Novkinsky rural executive committee. – The role of elders should increase, but without support, including financial support, nothing will change. To enhance the authority of executive committee chairmen in rural areas, each Council needs a small budget to address the most pressing issues – road surfacing, landscaping, access to cemeteries, installation of benches, etc.
After listening to his colleagues, Vladimir Terentyev admitted that he himself does not know how best to proceed. After all, one does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past, when everything was destroyed to the ground, and then recreated. When a person is elected by the people, they feel responsibility, which corresponds to democratic norms. – The executive branch decides state issues, and deputies express the will of the people. But I am sure that not a single protester with a white-red-white flag will go, say, to Zapolye to solve the problems of residents of the most remote village from the district center, – Vladimir Vladimirovich expressed his point of view.
The issue of conducting tenders, which have become a brake on development, was actively discussed. By the time a competition is announced and bids are held, time is lost, which is not beneficial for the cause. This procedure needs to be simplified, the speakers noted.
By the way, the Vitebsk region worked without subsidies this year. A proposal was made to leave profits in the local budget. Vladimir Terentyev promised to convey this information to the regional leadership.
Establish a moratorium on the death penalty – this proposal is actively discussed by citizens. Moreover, there is no single opinion on this issue either. Among the population, there are many religious citizens who are categorically against the death penalty. Indeed, even such an extreme measure has not eradicated embezzlement, rapists, and murderers from our society. A moratorium means life imprisonment. But in that case, even the most hopeless person has a small hope, which we should not deprive him of. Time passes, views and approaches change, amendments are made to the legislation. If there is even the slightest chance of life for a murderer, let him use it to start everything from scratch.
There was also a categorical "no" to the moratorium. And this approach has many supporters.
Whatever issues were discussed – whether it was enhancing the role of management and self-government, the role of deputies and elders, the moratorium on the death penalty, etc. – the statements were interested and frank. All proposals will be accumulated and sent to the organizing committee of the VI All-Belarusian People's Assembly.