Belarus president urges to improve personnel situation in social services

It is necessary to improve the situation with human resources in the social sphere. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko made the statement as he heard out a report from Deputy Prime Minister Natalya Kochanova on 11 October, BelTA has learned.

The President stated: "It is all about people. The current state of affairs in the social sphere, which you are supposed to oversee as a member of the government, leaves much to be desired. I am even concerned about the system used to evaluate personnel in all areas."

The head of state underlined that it is time to get things moving for the sake of addressing these issues. "You have seen the people. You know what these people are capable or incapable of doing. Punishing someone is not the idea. Every one of them has a family, a destiny and so on. But if a person is not up to the task, he or she has to go. If any personnel shifts or changes are necessary, you need to be able to see it," said Alexander Lukashenko.

The President described problems by using specific spheres as an example. Sport was one of them. "We all saw how our athletes performed during the Olympic Games in Rio. I see that our sport functionaries keep talking happily about it. They are satisfied, they believe that things went well. Well, they may be satisfied but you and I are not and neither is the nation. We didn't expect such characterless and abnormal performance," noted the head of state.

"A huge amount of money has been invested in sport. There were no complaints. But the investments produced no results to satisfy the nation's requirements since the nation's money was used to finance the trip to Rio," stressed Alexander Lukashenko. "Yet the sport functionaries are satisfied with the state of affairs. They are making preparations to host a general assembly of the European Olympic committees although I've told them repeatedly they should contact [Head of the Belarus President Administration Alexander] Kosinets and [Deputy Prime Minister Natalya] Kochanova. I've told them they should get in touch with the sport federations, the Sports and Tourism Ministry to discuss personnel matters and all the other things and only then host the assembly. The event should be hosted by the people, who will work in the new Olympic cycle."

According to the President, there are also problems in the area of responsibility of the Belarusian Culture Ministry, in particular, the movie industry. "I came across a talk show about the movie industry by accident. It was painful to hear the discussion. It turns out that movies are not made in Belarus because, some say, the Belarusfilm studio is being repaired. Were the conditions better in the time of [the movie director Mikhail] Ptashuk when he was filming V avguste 44-go? They were not. But he made a good movie all the same," noted Alexander Lukashenko.

The President also stated that various Russian series are made in Belarus, including those featuring Belarusian actors. "It seems that the repairs do not prevent them from making movies. Moreover, I visited the film studio and talked to the moviemakers in the past. Nothing has changed. The movie industry always has a shortage of something. I once told them to give me a script of a good movie full of ideas and deep thinking. Or a simple movie that will be interesting for the nation. Do you think they brought such a script to me? They didn't," said the President.

"Let's talk about the education industry," continued the head of state. "We talk about it a lot. It seems to me things are not improving. I am not saying the education industry has to be radically remodeled. It is more likely that we should protect it and preserve the best features. Yet it is necessary to address the problems that have been piling up. They are not so big after all."

Alexander Lukashenko pointed out similar shortcomings in the healthcare industry. "We have invested a lot in it. Yes, there is progress in the key areas and the entire world has recognized it," stated the Belarusian leader. Yet Alexander Lukashenko said he wanted healthcare industry officials not to forget about minor issues, which effect can cancel out all the positive accomplishments if left unattended.

"This is why we should somehow stir up the social spheres so that heads of various institutions and government agencies would not beg us for money for repairs or for fixing the roof or for remodeling the studio and so on. Everyone has to put an effort into it. If they can't, these people need to be replaced," concluded the President.

BELARUSIAN NEWS