Report of Minsk Mayor Vladimir Kukharev

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko heard out a report of Chairman of the Minsk City Hall Vladimir Kukharev on 9 February.

During the meeting the head of state asked about the current state of affairs in the Belarusian capital city and its development prospects, the efforts to sort things out with real estate assets in the center of Minsk.

“In fact, you have been working for three months. In our standards, this period is like the whole year, especially the previous year. It means a lot, it can be like even two years or more. So, you did not have much time to get familiar with the state of affairs, to sort things out. However, you are not a new person in Minsk, you know Minsk quite well. That is why you were appointed,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

He asked Vladimir Kukharev about the lessons of 2020, and especially of its second half, for the city administration. The President remarked that the participants of street protests damaged some city property. An instruction to handle this issue was given long ago. “Have they returned the money for the broken property to the city budget? Have they paid for their actions? Money was spent on restorations. Therefore, you should keep an eye on this issue,” the head of state emphasized.

Aleksandr Lukashenko also focused on the development of Minsk. In his words, this year will not be easy taking into account all the external factors. “We need to do our best to survive this year. The year will not be easy, it will be difficult even – this is the main problem. How do you see Minsk in 2021?” the President wondered. “Minsk is the capital of Belarus, the face of the country, the city which should be an example of development in many areas.”

The participants of the meeting also discussed the issue of snow removal in Minsk. “The situation is complicated in the country today because of these cyclones. Winters were too warm in the past years, and this year we have a true winter, especially today when the temperature may be not that low (10-15 degrees below zero), but the wind is strong and the snow is falling. We did not have such conditions for a long time,” the President said. “It is unexpected for us that people are complaining. They say we are too slow to remove snow from alleys, yards, and even grounds. Of course, you can criticize us, but in such extraordinary situations people can also join snow removal efforts.”

For this purpose, it is essential to organize people and to provide them with necessary instruments. “And we need to explain things to people, to tell them what territories they can clear and what territories we will clear. This is the issue of managing things,” he stressed.

According to the President, organizational issues can be also improved in other areas. He stressed that Minsk has a strong pool of administrative personnel at different levels, and they should solve this issue. “A tough approach is needed: you say, you give instructions and then inspect the progress in the evening. If you cope with the task it’s okay, if you fail you will be responsible. Don’t talk too much. This is the only way to keep Minsk at a high level which we have now,” the head of state said.

The head of state had instructed to do up the facilities earlier. Today he asked about the progress and reminded the mayor of his instructions.

“We agreed to tidy Yakub Kolas Square up. This is the center of the city and it needs to be taken care of,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Speaking about the former production facilities of the Horizont factory, the President stressed that they need a makeover. “I know that you plan innovative projects there to turn the old premises into the most innovative and most advanced offices and production facilities. Yakub Kolas Square and the Horizont TV factory neighborhood need urban improvements. These territories should generate budget revenues. This target is achievable,” he said.

Anticipating the report, the head of state told the Minsk mayor that this year will be particularly demanding for the municipal administration: “It will not be easy for you to work in Minsk, because this year the pressure on the Minsk authorities will be very serious. Minsk should be in good shape,” the President said.

According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, visitors like Minsk for its great working and entertainment opportunities. This city ‘has not been divided by gangsters’ and is not built up densely ‘with God knows what real estate’,” the President noted.

“It is a clean and beautiful city with a waterfront, parks, housing, and jobs. Starting from this year we need to keep it this way. In this five-year period Minsk must be made exemplary perfect,” the head of state emphasized.

According to Vladimir Kukharev, the Minsk administration is paying huge attention to the economy of the capital city as it is the foundation of development. In his words, last year real salaries increased by almost 10% to Br1,782. “The proceeds from sales went up 9%, profits on sales increased by 17%. In our opinion, this is a very good result amid the economic situation in the world. The profitability is 9%. Besides, key targets in housing construction were met,” the mayor said.