Opening ceremony of city children's polyclinic No. 9 in Minsk

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in an opening ceremony of city children's polyclinic No. 9 in Minsk.

"On my way here I was thinking whether we are building more cultural, sports and healthcare facilities than needed? We probably do. I do not mean facility for children. Children is a special case. We need to take serious stock of everything that we have built in the social sector. We can travel an extra mile to get to a polyclinic, especially in Minsk, cannot we? The saved money should be used to improve the well-being of medical workers," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

Most of the national budget is directed to support the social sector. "This is our policy. We are building a welfare state," he said.

We could direct more funds into the social sector, but only if we increase taxes. But it is unlikely that citizens will support such a decision, the head of state noted.

"Therefore, we need to figure out where we get the money in order to raise wages. Then I said that we should probably scale back new construction a bit. The new polyclinic is not just a building. This is a palace. Palaces are expensive. That's the point of what I said more than a year ago. I suggest again that the city of Minsk, and especially the Healthcare Ministry, think about this," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.