Meeting to discuss redistribution of powers between government bodies

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko convened a meeting to discuss redistribution of powers between government bodies on 30 March.

Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled that the president had the final say on a huge number of matters at the outset of Belarus’ independence. “This was done in order to sort out the budget, to retain state property, mineral resources, everything that belongs (and I hope will belong) to Belarusian people, to prevent the oligarchy, landslide privatization and stratification of the society, to build key institutions of power,” the head of state said.

He noted that these processes can be assessed in different ways, there are different points of view on the decisions made. “To which I always said: they did it as best they could. They will do better after us, having this experience,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the president, it helped keep the authorities at all levels focused on the implementation of the single state policy. The country has established a smooth system of control and mechanisms to handle finances in an efficient and prudent way, while decisions made at the top levels of government are impeccably communicated to each executor, Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

At the same time, the head of state admitted that the discipline in the country is inadequate. “I’ll say frankly: probably, those present here do not think that we have an absolute agreement of opinion, a strong administrative machinery at various levels. There were enough people in the government who took a wait-and-see approach before the recent events, they wanted to see how the day of freedom would pass, whether workers would rise up in the spring, etc. Then they realized that the things the media predicted, especially in Russia, did not materialize; the government held its ground. The government has kept its footing and will continue to do so, we have preserved the state and will keep strengthening it. Therefore, whoever wants to work – stop hunkering down and start working. We have too much work to do,” the president stressed.

Speaking about the country’s development stages, the president noted that a quarter of a century is a considerable time period, especially for a young state like Belarus. “Therefore, as I said earlier, the time has come to take another look at what decisions and at what level should be taken,” the head of state said.

Last year the president gave an instruction to study the possibility of redistributing powers between various branches of government and strengthening their accountability. The Council of Ministers, local authorities and parliamentarians prepared a package of proposals to expand the scope of authority of the government and other state bodies.

“I studied them carefully. My first suggestion is that you shouldn’t pass them instantly and indiscriminately. It should be an evolutionary process. We have to finish the process before the draft of the new Constitution is submitted to a referendum. That is, this year we have to make the final decision on the powers of the president, government, parliament, governors, and even lower ones, if necessary,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the head of state, some of the proposals have really matured by today. He explained that before being submitted to the president for signing, documents go through several levels of expertise. “There is no need, perhaps, to raise individual decisions to the level of the president and set this filter. The government understands how to make decisions, this is all formalized in legislation. Therefore, it makes sense to leave some powers at the government level. We will not devolve the powers of the head of state when it comes to the most critical part of decision-making that impacts every person, business entity and the state as a whole. Moreover, such decisions are often irreversible. I would like to emphasize: it is not about Lukashenko, it is about the future,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

According to the head of state, this pertains, first of all, to land relations, or to be more precise, land management. “Here is my iron demand: agricultural lands and forested areas can be given away only by the decision of the president,” the Belarusian leader emphasized.

“As to other points, we will carefully discuss each set of issues, hear out the rationale for making final decisions,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added.