Natalya Kochanova: The number of public complaints in Vitebsk Oblast is decreasing

At an expanded visiting meeting of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus in Ushachy, the work with citizens' appeals received from residents of the Vitebsk region, in particular, during the recent single day of reception by parliamentarians, is being considered.

As Natalya Kochanova noted, the statistics on citizens' appeals in the Vitebsk region are quite positive. The number of complaints has significantly decreased.

– You know what attention is paid to working with citizens' appeals. The President, at the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, addressing the parliament, said: we must first and foremost work carefully with people. This was his main message to the country's parliamentary corps. This applies not only to the parliament but to all deputies. A careful attitude, knowledge of problems, what people live by, what issues need to be resolved at one stage or another of our development – this is fundamental for us.

The Speaker of the upper house of Parliament noted that the work plan for draft laws for 2026 has been approved, including the draft "On Amending the Law of the Republic of Belarus 'On Appeals of Citizens and Legal Entities'."

– To be honest, in our country, this work is structured quite clearly. We understand the task, the frequency of citizens' receptions, we know how to work with appeals today. But sometimes there is simply not enough careful attention to people. At the last reception of citizens, which took place on February 4, I was convinced of this. When people start asking questions, I realize that we haven't reached them. Deputies, authorities haven't reached them. We haven't covered certain information in the local newspaper or on television to make it clear, – emphasized Natalya Kochanova.

Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Department of Health of the Regional Executive Committee, noted that the number of appeals concerning the industry's work in the Vitebsk region is small. This is the result of targeted work.

– During the year, the heads of the main department conducted 56 personal receptions, and a telephone hotline operates on weekdays. At the top of the list of the most urgent appeals are those that are somehow related to personnel. And this is natural, because the quality of assistance directly depends on the human resources potential. Over the past 5 years, the staffing level of doctors has increased by 3%, and for mid-level medical personnel by 2%. The provision of medical care per 10,000 population has also increased by 2% since 2020. However, the Vitebsk region lags behind other regions of the republic. Therefore, we pay attention to the retention of medical personnel in their first workplaces and the reduction of turnover. Annually, specialists are recruited for targeted training. The number of targeted places has been significantly increased. An evening form of training for nurses has been opened, and since 2022, students are being recruited based on 9th-grade education, – explained Mikhail Vishnevetsky.

Every appeal from citizens is not just a letter or an electronic application. It is a direct appeal from a person to the state with the hope of being heard, – noted Alexey Geroev, Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee.

– Therefore, today we set ourselves the task not just to respond to appeals, but to build a system of effective work of the vertical of power, where the litmus test will be the promptness of responding to people's requests. The topics of appeals received by the city executive committee cover a wide range of problems. The overwhelming majority concern the housing and communal services sector. City residents sent 1887 such appeals during 2025, which accounts for almost 60% of the total number, – explained Alexey Geroev.

The analysis allowed identifying the most vulnerable points. Thus, a significant part of appeals in the housing and communal services sector comes from issues of repair, operation, and maintenance of the housing stock. Often they are caused by objective reasons. Indeed, about 40% of engineering networks in the basements of residential buildings in the city of Vitebsk have increased wear, which leads to frequent emergency situations and basement flooding.

– Taking this into account, the "Basement" program is being implemented in the city. Within its framework, during the past year, work was carried out on the current repair and replacement of engineering and small networks in 76 multi-apartment residential buildings, – continued the chairman of the city executive committee.