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Lukashenko comments on cases of food sabotage

MINSK, 26 July (BelTA) – Cases of food sabotage have been reported in some districts of the country, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a conference to discuss the progress in the harvest campaign on 26 July, BelTA has learned.

"The main requirements for the harvest campaign are quality and pace. Discipline and responsibility should be top-notch. Yet, the State Control Committee and the Prosecutor General's Office have reported that not everything is smooth," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, many local executives failed to prepare for the harvest campaign. Some organizations even failed to prepare farm machines.

"In fact, every tenth combine harvester is not ready for work. There are no machine operators, they say. How could it be? Last autumn we agreed to invite former combine harvesters from cities to work. There are a lot of them. Grain drying and storage warehouses are out of order in some places. Book cooking in terms of farm machines and grain drying complexes has been unveiled at 40 agricultural enterprises. This is not just irresponsibility on the part of local authorities. This is food sabotage. This is how it will be regarded," the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that he had repeatedly instructed the government and regional administrations to make sure the equipment would be ready to go. The same instruction was given to the industry minister. "Let's hear why my instructions have not been fulfilled," the president warned.

Almost every second of the inspected farms has been found in violation of technological regulations for fodder harvesting. 277 agricultural organizations in all regions of the country are having problems with the pace of grass harvesting due to faulty equipment. Facts of low readiness were established in 130 farms, and in some, repairs began only before the start of work.

"What kind of executive discipline can we talk about if every year the police uncover cases of alcohol abuse in the workplace? There are a lot of them," the head of state outlined another problem.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, about 700 protocols were drawn up during the sowing and harvest campaigns, including more than 100 DUIs protocols. "We all need to think about the measures against such people. These measures should be the most stringent. We should not and will not work like this," Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

The president inquired about the real situation on the ground and the issues to be resolved. He also asked what is need to ensure the high readiness of equipment, the efficient operation of the grain drying process and the rational use of the production capacities of bakery plants. The head of state also paid special attention to the personnel issues and wages, order and discipline, timely assistance to rural residents.

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