MINSK, 5 March (BelTA) – The Belarusian sport still has more problems than successes, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as he appointed Sergei Kovalchuk as Sports and Tourism Minister on 5 March, BelTA has learned.
According to the head of state, an experienced military person has been appointed as the sports sector needs discipline.
The president stressed that a lot of attention is attached to sports in the country. “Yet, the sport still has more problems than victories and successes. The sector needs discipline,” the head of state said.
A decision was taken to raise the salaries of the coaches to encourage a more productive work. But the workload will be appropriate, said Alexander Lukashenko. “Salaries should be raised. We have already done this in some sports. We will gradually increase wages across all types of sports we have in the country today. But every coach must have the schedule like a school teacher or a university professor,” the president noted.
The head of state also expects the new minister to build relations with the sports federations. The president drew particular attention to the preparation of the conference on the development of winter sports, which he intends to hold shortly.
Alexander Lukashenko believes it is important to promote mass sport. As an example he cited the Snow Sniper junior biathlon tournament. The final drew a great number of participants. Fans were treated to a great entertainment program.