Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko criticizes sluggish early response to recent storms in Belarus

MINSK, 19 July (BelTA) – Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko expressed criticism over slow early response to the recent natural disaster in the country, as he spoke at the teleconference on 19 July, BelTA has learned.

“There was no response at all, except for the routine response of power workers. There was no adequate, fast, clear, military-like response to this event. Extremely poor performance in the first hours and days following the thunderstorms. I saw everything and started pushing governors and others to take action,” the Belarusian leader said.

Vasil Gerasimov, Chairman of the State Control Committee, spoke about the shortcomings identified as part of the storm recovery efforts in Belarus. For example, there were no proper interaction between different agencies in some places. Moreover, in some cases, instead of prompt action, tenders were announced to find contractors to eliminate the consequences of the disaster.

“Restore the damaged roofs of houses, do other emergency things, and then we will deal with all the rest,” the head of state said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that there are people who acted as true heroes and deserve state awards. There are also those who have shown laxness.

“We should learn lessons from any situation,” he said, instructing the chairman of the State Control Committee together with other responsible officials to work out the relevant issues, including the formation of reserves in case of similar situations in the future.

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