Session to discuss draft ordinance designed to step up requirements for executive personnel
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While executive personnel in Belarus will have to live up to higher standards, they will be granted additional powers to manage their subordinates. Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko made the statement at the government conference held on 2 December to discuss the draft presidential ordinance designed to step up requirements for executive personnel and workers of organizations.
The head of state remarked that the idea to develop the legal act to step up requirements and enforce higher standards for executive personnel had been brought up more than once. “Our decision implementation standards are extremely low across the board at all levels of the government,” the President stated.
“I have had the draft document on this matter on my table twice and twice have we declined it. Last time we saw that we indeed demand a lot from executive personnel and we should do so in these conditions. But we also stated that before we can demand something from executives, we need to clearly outline their authority and add more powers,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Otherwise, we may criticize executive personnel all we want while the executives are unable to force their subordinates to produce results. In the end we will get nothing. Therefore, while we lay down most exacting standards that executives will have to live up to, we should give the relevant authority to the executives for them to be able to get their decisions implemented”.
The head of state asked the attendees to give answers to a number of questions. Some of the questions were: whether an executive will be held accountable in the event of disastrous performance; are there effective measures to prevent a ‘merry-go-round’ of failed executives.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked: “While toughening performance standards for managers, do we give them enough leverage and additional authorities to influence their employees?”
“The biggest punishment for an executive is to be fired. All these fines and other measures will just make people angry and will have no due effect on people. I am talking about the situations when an executive is not up to his job or has committed an offence. An offence does not necessarily mean a blunder. An executive knows very well what he can do and what he cannot do. If he breaks this rule, what is the point of keeping him at this job? He should be sacked. If he has done something that is punishable under the Administrative Code or, which is worse, the Criminal Code, he will be held accountable under these codes,” the President emphasized.
The head of state asked whether the document will be fair enough. Every blundering executive should be able to understand why he is held accountable. What matters most is whether the ordinance will be able to prevent executives from covering each other's backs and whether it will create real accountability for executives and reveal the cases of nepotism, cronyism and the situations when failed executives move from jobs to jobs?
The President demanded an objective assessment of the document. He warned: “God forbid we bring forth just another instruction with a list of articles and fines.” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that the document should be complete, clear and unambiguous.
Participants of the session discussed various aspects of the new document. The Belarusian President gave an instruction to finalize it taking into consideration all proposals and to enact the ordinance at the beginning of 2015.
The head of state remarked that the idea to develop the legal act to step up requirements and enforce higher standards for executive personnel had been brought up more than once. “Our decision implementation standards are extremely low across the board at all levels of the government,” the President stated.
“I have had the draft document on this matter on my table twice and twice have we declined it. Last time we saw that we indeed demand a lot from executive personnel and we should do so in these conditions. But we also stated that before we can demand something from executives, we need to clearly outline their authority and add more powers,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “Otherwise, we may criticize executive personnel all we want while the executives are unable to force their subordinates to produce results. In the end we will get nothing. Therefore, while we lay down most exacting standards that executives will have to live up to, we should give the relevant authority to the executives for them to be able to get their decisions implemented”.
The head of state asked the attendees to give answers to a number of questions. Some of the questions were: whether an executive will be held accountable in the event of disastrous performance; are there effective measures to prevent a ‘merry-go-round’ of failed executives.
Aleksandr Lukashenko asked: “While toughening performance standards for managers, do we give them enough leverage and additional authorities to influence their employees?”
“The biggest punishment for an executive is to be fired. All these fines and other measures will just make people angry and will have no due effect on people. I am talking about the situations when an executive is not up to his job or has committed an offence. An offence does not necessarily mean a blunder. An executive knows very well what he can do and what he cannot do. If he breaks this rule, what is the point of keeping him at this job? He should be sacked. If he has done something that is punishable under the Administrative Code or, which is worse, the Criminal Code, he will be held accountable under these codes,” the President emphasized.
The head of state asked whether the document will be fair enough. Every blundering executive should be able to understand why he is held accountable. What matters most is whether the ordinance will be able to prevent executives from covering each other's backs and whether it will create real accountability for executives and reveal the cases of nepotism, cronyism and the situations when failed executives move from jobs to jobs?
The President demanded an objective assessment of the document. He warned: “God forbid we bring forth just another instruction with a list of articles and fines.” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized that the document should be complete, clear and unambiguous.
Participants of the session discussed various aspects of the new document. The Belarusian President gave an instruction to finalize it taking into consideration all proposals and to enact the ordinance at the beginning of 2015.