Opinions & Interviews

Parliament speaker: Coronavirus situation in Belarus is under control

Vladimir Andreichenko. An archive photo

MINSK, 2 April (BelTA) – The coronavirus situation in Belarus is under control, BelTA learned from Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Vladimir Andreichenko on 2 April.

According to the speaker of the lower chamber of the Belarusian parliament, the situation on world markets remains complicated against the backdrop of oil wars and the coronavirus outbreak. Economic activity is declining. “Unfortunately, the pandemic has made a few adjustments to life in Belarus as well. Naturally, we shouldn’t dramatize the situation yet we shouldn’t simplify the problem either. Because taking care of the health and lives of our citizens is the key thing for us,” Vladimir Andreichenko said. “Timely preventive measures taken by the government have allowed taking the situation under control. It is very important that citizens show understanding about what is going on and remain calm and composed. But it is our medics that we should be deeply grateful to for their professionalism, courage, and selflessness that they demonstrate in their noble line of work. It is our duty to support them in this difficult time.”

It is also important to minimize the epidemic’s impact on economic activity. “It is necessary to devise ways to support economic activity, make sure that people get their salaries and pensions on time, that they receive the necessary social services. Certainly, joint work of the state and the general public, commercial entities and citizens is important for maintaining stability. Because everyone shares the responsibility virtually in equal measure,” the speaker noted.

Vladimir Andreichenko stressed that members of the parliament should demonstrate a more proactive stance on the matter. They need to know what is going on at enterprises and in organizations of their constituencies. They need to explain to people what measures to fight the virus are being taken, why it is so important to be self-disciplined and precisely follow recommendations of medics. “While working on that, we shouldn’t lose sight of other important areas of work. First of all, it is necessary to clearly see the practical tasks that need to be accomplished today in order to defend key social and economic positions of Belarus,” the speaker said. “We should bear it in mind as we determine legislative priorities of the parliamentary session. The enabling of conditions able to reduce the sensitivity of the national economy to external shocks should come to the forefront. The most important ones include a stable business environment, a more effective public sector, the development of entrepreneurship and export.”

Vladimir Andreichenko went on saying that the head of state’s address to the nation and the parliament will be the key political event in the session’s work. Key provisions of the address will be used to form the strategy of Belarus’ development in the next five-year term. “In addition to tackling the crisis this strategy should aim for the future, for the effective use of our key competitive advantage – human capital and those branches of the economy that will drive the country’s confident development in the 21st century,” the MP said.

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