Belarusian People’s Congress

MINSK, 22 June (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko summed up results of the first day of the fifth Belarusian People’s Congress and commented on the proposals and questions in speeches of the delegates, BelTA has learned.

The President said: “I have listened to all the speeches attentively. I have tried to combine some proposals together.” He remarked on lending to the economy as a burning issue. “It is truly a serious matter. It is not as simple as it looks. This is why I would like to request the chairman of the board of the National Bank to stand by in order to explain some of the questions for the delegates if need be,” said Alexander Lukashenko.

The head of state also remarked that many of the speeches raised the matter of patriotism. “You’ve talked a lot about memory, about war. Our situation looks just ideal. We have not destroyed a single monument, we preserve them. We sacredly preserve this memory even in the smallest villages,” stressed Alexander Lukashenko.

A lot of questions were asked and matters were raised with regard to personnel training. “We can whine and debate a lot about it but personnel must be trained on the job. No university, no vocational school, college or lyceum can train personnel the way the employer would like them trained. It is always the same, it is true in every country that graduates need to be trained on the job to reach the desired standards,” said the President.

Yet Alexander Lukashenko agreed that more attention should be paid to creating the physical infrastructure in educational institutions. “A lot has been done in this regard. We will continue working like that. But enabling on-the-job training for future specialists in universities and other educational institutions is the key thing. Specialists should be trained on the job, in the field, next to their machine tool,” said the President.

This is why the head of state reminded that similar questions are asked and similar matters are raised with regard to training executive personnel for agriculture. They should be trained on the basis of cutting-edge experience of the already successful and effective executives.

“A lot of correct questions were asked about proper eating habits and the healthy lifestyle. Our eating habits are the reason of our ailments in 50-60% of the cases,” said the President. “If we managed to encourage healthy eating habits, if we placed a proper diet on everyone’s table, trust me, we would get fewer diseases. The matter deserves more than passing attention. We should take care of it on a daily basis.”

The defense of the Fatherland and education in the spirit of patriotism were also mentioned during the first day of the Belarusian People’s Congress. “I’d like to raise the matter because in our society either in the opposition or somewhere else some people have emerged, who are itching to push our nation towards some cataclysms, contradictions, or a war. They refer to Russia a lot,” noted Alexander Lukashenko. “These efforts negatively affect individual members of our society. As a citizen I sometimes think that their efforts are wasted. We don’t treat flag-waving patriots, who talk a lot about patriotism on television, the way other countries do. If something bad happens, we will let them lead the offensive in front ranks. I say it to discourage them. Nobody will be able to hide behind someone else in Belarus.”

In his speech Vasily Revyako, director of the agricultural enterprise Progress-Vertelishki, Hero of Belarus, member of the International Affairs and National Security Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly, raised several matters concerning the development of agriculture. The President gave instructions to look at them and fix possible shortcomings through legislation. “The vice premier should be ready to give explanations just in case. Plus explanations about state support for agriculture: what we plan to do, what is possible,” said the Belarusian leader.

“And last but not least. The questions submitted via the hotline were analyzed. There are dozens of questions. These questions should be analyzed by the secretariat or the relevant bodies in the government, the Belarus President Administration, the parliament, and the ministries. Think about who will answer these questions via mass media,” said Alexander Lukashenko.