31.01.2015 - 16:56
News of Belarus. Directly telephone connection today, on January 31, all regions of Belarus came out again. Economic development cities, timely payment wages, development transport infrastructure, pricing and many other issues became key for three hours.
Residents were still worried about problems in the housing and communal services sector, the 24 Hours News program on STV reported.
This is the third week in a row that these direct telephone lines have been running, on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. And they are in demand. So, only in Minsk, the deputy chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Zhanna Birich answered more than 80 questions. The authorities are confident that such a dialogue will be effective.
Zhanna Birich, Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee:
Every dialogue is actionable. This suggests that the government hears the population and is obliged to take some kind of response to the requests that the population asks. The level, for example, of the deputy chairman of the regional executive committee, the city executive committee allows you to make decisions, give instructions to services and resolve issues quickly, without delay. Any appeal will be considered, even not in the supervised industries. Services will be considered and instructed to resolve the issue.
The dialogue also took place in the Brest region. Here on "direct communication with the population" were deputy heads of economic issues. They called with complaints about delays in paying wages and vacation pay, and about unscrupulous employers. Specialists of both regional and district executive committees emphasize that they are ready to help deal with any issue.
Alexander Atyasov, Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Deputies:
This is why there are receptions of citizens, direct lines to study the opinion of the population, somewhere to correct their programs for the future, for the future. And most importantly - current problems. People do not put anything extraordinary, something that cannot be solved. Basically, these are everyday problems related to housing repairs, water supply, and the condition of roads. In winter, a lot of questions come in, especially in countryside, cleaning the streets in the villages.
News of Belarus. More than 30 questions, from personal to socially significant. On January 10, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, Natalya Kochanova, held a reception of citizens, the 24 Hours News program on STV reported. The most painful areas are housing and communal services and the social sphere, almost all questions were from this plane.
Such meetings take place all the time. For Belarusians, this is an opportunity to get answers to complex, sometimes controversial issues, and for officials - to find out what the society is worried about. The President always directs officials to work with the population. The head of state does not get tired of repeating that a person is at the center of everything, and to solve his problems - the main task managers. By the way, this technique showed that many appeals might not have happened if they were resolved at the local level in time.
All the details from the correspondent Evgeny Pustovoy.
Vasily Yakushev has worked in oil refining for over 40 years. As a leader, he also held receptions for people. And now he himself, with documents in his hands, came in search of the truth. His patented development is used, but they forget to transfer the due money. The last straw for the Naftan veteran was silence in response to his appeal.
Vasily Yakushev, veteran oil refiner:
According to our invention, a device was mounted that helps to clearly distribute the flows of the gas-raw mixture. Thus, the catalyst system was enlarged, and the plant was able to produce diesel fuel of European quality.
The country has a well-functioning system of work with appeals of Belarusians. Helping people find the truth is the head of state's parting word to all officials. In the work schedules of the heads of departments and government agencies, the reception of citizens is a mandatory item.
The bad weather outside conveyed the mood of the people who came on January 10 for an appointment with the Speaker of the Council of the Republic. Natalya Kochanova managed, if not to solve the problems immediately, then at least to warm the attention of the people who came.
More than 30 questions, and an even greater number of applicants. Some problems concern several people at once, and sometimes a social problem is reflected in the personal drama. They even came to the official for the truth, hiding their face. The wife drinks and lives under the same roof with the children raised by the father. And all allegedly according to the letter of the law.
This is the form of communication between parliamentarians and people - the shortest way to find the right legislative initiatives.
Natalia Kochanova, Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus:
Laws must come from life. They must be understandable to people. Therefore, when we hold receptions on personal matters and hear what concerns our citizens, this should be taken into account when drafting bills, when adjustments are made, new bills are being developed, or existing ones are being corrected. We see in refraction in real life how they work, these laws. Therefore, this form of work is very important.
Life tells us: Decree 18 needs changes, and the mechanism for legalizing extensions in the private sector of the capital needs new approaches. This topic is one of the most acute in Minsk. Communicating with people, one has to react not only according to job description, but often just humanly.
The main topics of appeals are housing and communal services and social programs. By the way, among those who applied there were also people with an active civic position. It was about the construction of a memorial and the creation of a museum of parliamentarism. Often on high level it is necessary to raise the image of the authorities, spoiled by slow or indifferent bureaucrats on the ground. In general, everything happens, as one of the applicants said, like this: he went around everyone - and came to you.
All requests will be considered. They will not just be answered, but solved if possible. The receptions themselves continue, follow the publications of the schedule in the press.
Interview of Zhanna Birich to “Narodnaya Gazeta”
There is no progress without innovation
According to the plan of the developers of the program, the Minsk region will become a region of high concentration of intellectual potential and high culture, a center for incubation of new technologies and an attraction for investors who are ready to invest their capital in highly effective projects. In recent years, the speed of the innovation process has increased dramatically. The governments of many countries are investing their efforts and resources in the creation and development of national innovation systems for the transfer of knowledge from the science sector, where they are born, to the industrial and agricultural production sector, where they turn into goods and services. In Belarus, innovation is also one of the country's development priorities. Now each region is preparing its own program for scientific and technical activities for the upcoming five-year period, after which they will form the backbone of a similar republican program. Zhanna BIRICH, Chairman of the Economy Committee of the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee, told the correspondent of Narodnaya Gazeta about the goals and objectives of the regional scientific and technical program “Development of the Minsk Region for 2006-2010”.
The main goal of the innovative development of the region is to solve the problems of technical re-equipment of production, increase the efficiency of industry, and in agriculture - to restore the leading role of the region in providing the country with food, - says Zhanna Eduardovna.
– The priorities of the program are the introduction of progressive technological processes, increasing the productivity of basic agricultural crops and increasing the productivity of animal husbandry, development, primarily in rural areas, of health facilities.
– Judging by the statistics, in recent years the economy
Minsk region is developing dynamically. Which sectors attract the most investment?
- In industry Agriculture, transport, housing construction. For comparison: in 2002, the growth rate of investment in fixed capital was 104.5%, and three years later - 141.5%. More funds began to be allocated for innovation activities. If in 2005 1012.8 million rubles were allocated from the innovation fund of the regional executive committee, own funds of regional organizations to finance scientific and innovative activities, in the current year - 1105 million, then in 2007 it is planned to attract 1213 million rubles.
Yes, our region does not have its own research centers of regional subordination, nevertheless, it has a significant potential of the academic, university and industry sectors of science located in the capital and the Minsk region. By the way, there are more than two hundred scientific organizations in Belarus, of which 167 are located in our region.
– Within the framework of what regional projects was scientific and innovative activity carried out?
The regional scientific and technical program for 2001-2005 included 12 tasks with a total funding of more than 1 billion rubles, which were mainly focused on reducing the production costs of the region's enterprises through the introduction of new energy and resource-saving technologies.
Due to the fact that about a billion rubles have been invested in agricultural science, over the past five years, the Minsk region has increased the production of the main types of agricultural products in the public sector: grain - by 1.4 times, sugar beet - by 2.1, flax fiber - by 1.4, rapeseed - 2 times, milk - 1.9 times, meat (growing) - 1.5 times. This year, 16 scientific and innovative projects are being implemented in the region, for which it is planned to allocate 977 million rubles from the innovation fund of the regional executive committee.
– What is the difference between the new scientific and technical program “Development of the Minsk Region for 2006-2010” and the previous one?
– Its goal is not only to increase the efficiency of agricultural and industrial production based on the development and implementation of resource-saving technologies, but also in accordance with State program revival and development of the village for 2005-2010 improvement of the engineering arrangement of rural settlements in the Minsk region. And the main task is to attract investments in efficient and competitive industries and activities that ensure the progressive development of the region's economy and increase the competitiveness of production.
- It must be assumed that funding for research and development in this area will also increase ...
Of course, by 2010 it will increase by at least 2.5 times compared to 2005. Resources will be concentrated on priority areas. Such as the technical renovation of production, mainly on the basis of domestic scientific and technical developments; introduction of world standards for product quality and environmental protection, new import-substituting technologies based on our own raw material base; development of resource- and energy-saving, environmentally friendly technologies for the production, processing and storage of agricultural products, biotechnologies, food and plant protection products. This also includes the zoning of high-yielding varieties of grain and leguminous crops, potatoes, grasses, new and transgenic crops; development of small-scale energy facilities using non-traditional and renewable types of energy; new materials and energy sources running on local fuels; production technologies of modern building materials and construction of housing with high consumer qualities in rural areas; ecology and rational nature management.
The total amount of financing for the creation of new industries at existing enterprises and the modernization of existing industries in 2006-2010 will amount to more than 48.3 billion rubles, in which the share of the republican budget is 3.2 billion, local budget- about 7.3 billion, bank loans - more than 33 billion, other sources - about 4.8 billion rubles.
- How many enterprises are included in the long-term plan for the innovative development of the Minsk region for the next five years?
- More than thirty. For example, for RUE "Minsk Regional Agricultural Experimental Station of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus" it is planned to allocate 200 million rubles for the development of a new technology for the primary seed production of grain and leguminous crops, potatoes, herbs, cruciferous crops. A new production facility for the production of dry whey will be created at the Kopyl Butter and Cheese Plant OJSC. The enterprise will receive 6.5 billion rubles of investments, thanks to which already in 2008 it will start producing these products, bringing its output to 1.5 thousand tons by 2010. The modernization of production according to the Bulgarian technology at the Borisov Cannery will cost more than 4.3 billion rubles, but the enterprise will increase the production of canned fruits and vegetables from the current 46.1 million to 51.6 million standard cans.
PMC "Minskobldorstroy" will develop and implement resource-saving technologies for producing asphalt concrete pavements with improved strength characteristics. You can list more, but it will take a lot of time.
A correspondent of the Minsk-Novosti agency spoke with Zhanna Birich, deputy chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee, about her work and personal life.
Zhanna Eduardovna, men should probably entrust you with the direction that women usually supervise, for example, ideological, culture or education ... But you, however, have the most difficult area - the economy.
- And not only the economy. Transport, communication. It feels like every day you are on top of an awakening volcano. There are surprises almost every day. This and the changed economic situation, it became more difficult for enterprises to work due to exchange differences and banking interest rates, which together wash out the turnover of enterprises ... I sometimes catch myself thinking that in fact not every man would have coped with the situation. There is a lot of work, it is scrupulous, not episodic. You constantly have to be, as they say, in good shape, aware of all city and not only events. It seems to me that in my place it would be more difficult for men, no matter how paradoxical it sounds. They are more focused than we are on quick results. However, here it is necessary to feel the problem very subtly, to get to the bottom of the reasons for its occurrence, to analyze them correctly and make the right managerial decision. No wonder the iron lady Margaret Thatcher liked to repeat: “If you need to write a speech, turn to a man, but if you need to do something, turn to a woman!”
- How are you doing?
- When you have been doing this for more than a year, you understand all the responsibility well. Life has taught me to take work very seriously, and I demand the same from my subordinates. You have to constantly monitor yourself to minimize the risk of errors. According to the horoscope, I am Virgo and, according to this sign, I am terribly pedantic, I love order everywhere and in everything. At home, I relax to the fullest in a purely feminine way: I like to do cleaning. It relieves stress, makes it possible to reboot the brain. I have long noticed that physical labor frees me from the burden of working problems and relaxes me. If you can switch yourself from one topic to another, then you can cope with problems much easier.
- Let's just talk about Zhanna Birich. How does the morning start, how long are you going to work?
- Wake up at 5:30. While breakfast is being cooked (except for cereals, cottage cheese with honey is required daily) - morning preparations, I iron the suit in the evening, and make the bed. This is my habit from early childhood - no matter what the circumstances, the bed should always be tidied up. Then, if necessary, 20 minutes at the hairdresser and by 8:00 to work. I do everything very quickly, sometimes I even have time to wash the floors in the apartment.
Are you saying that you do all your homework yourself?
- Of course, all by myself! It takes a little time to clean a two-room apartment, and dexterity appeared with age. I can afford to relax for a few minutes. It happens that I arrange a small snack. In the mood I can sing a song and dance. Real comfort, a feeling of harmony of soul and body comes when everything in the apartment is cleaned, washed and put in place.
- Do you get to relax on vacation?
- I love the sea. It relieves both fatigue and tension, there is a complete recharge of thoughts. Most of all I like to visit Florence, especially to go to museums. For me, there is nothing more exciting than admiring the originals by the great artists of the past. Tourists in the city run after bags, and I order an additional four hours at the museum. I love Belarusian cities very much. They have a unique spirit and their own life, which, if you look closely, can completely enchant. But, unfortunately, it is less and less possible to break out on such trips. Do you know what song I have in my head when I return to Belarus? "It's good that there is happiness in the world - the way home."
You always look stylish and elegant. Are the basis of your wardrobe made up of imported items or a Belarusian manufacturer? And do you have your own stylist?
- Of course, I choose my own clothes. The hairdresser who cuts my hair helps me with my hair. As for the wardrobe, there are Belarusian things, as well as imported ones. Unfortunately, the salary does not allow excesses in clothes. But the basic things must be on top. A wardrobe has been formed over the years, so I can take worthy things within the framework of my income both from a Belarusian manufacturer and abroad. As for elegance and style, the roots come from a family upbringing. Mom would not allow herself to go to work without a haircut, without a carefully pressed suit and polished shoes. From early childhood, my brother and I were taught that from a personal relationship to appearance depends a lot. Especially for a woman.
- In that case, you must love shopping ...
- Paradox, I like beautiful things, but it can be oh so difficult to force yourself to go shopping. It’s easier when one of my friends, knowing my workload at work, calls and gives directions, suggests: there is a comfortable and inexpensive thing there. Then on Sunday we meet with a friend and go to "rest". By the way, thanks to friends, I learned to drive a car. Previously, both they and the children helped out. But you can not constantly burden them. I also want to say that my friends, and among them there are doctors, and programmers, and economists, just like me, had to achieve everything in life by their own work. And today, when in moments of weakness I begin to feel sorry for myself, I suddenly understand that there are people nearby who get no less in life. At such moments comes the realization that work with all its vicissitudes is life. It gives material wealth, self-confidence and helps to find the people you deserve.
- Do you want to give up everything in moments of weakness and remain just a woman with everyday fuss?
- It happens. But then I think: most women have a completely different pace of life, more measured, maybe more pampered. But I am already programmed to do everything quickly, clearly, according to a predetermined plan. Can't waste time. In moments of female weakness, I have the strength to force myself to pull myself together and do what needs to be done. Thank you friends. Thanks to them, I can jump off the established rhythm for a while and go to the theater, bathhouse or go on a picnic. Knowing that my Saturdays are working, “guests” can arrange for me - they will cook dinner themselves and fill me up in the evening. Rather, it is already I who come to my place, as if visiting.
How is your relationship with your daughter's family? Does your job have an impact on children?
- We are at home with them on an equal footing. It cannot be denied that on the side, undercurrents exist in relation to both the daughter and the son-in-law. And sometimes it bothers them. But they are great, they perceive what is happening calmly. At home, the topic of my work is not even discussed. My daughter and I are very good friends, and the granddaughter sees in me not just a grandmother, but an adult girlfriend, to whom you can sometimes tell something that even a mother should not hear. And I really appreciate this trust.
Since we touched on the family topic, what would you say about yourself as a mother-in-law? The classic mother-in-law relationship is not about you?
- I do not want and will not intervene in the lives of my children, to impose my vision of solving their problems. So the classic joke about mother-in-law and son-in-law, I hope, is not about us. And I can only give advice to my daughter, she is my dear person and I can tell her everything that I consider necessary. I don’t try to constantly protect them, because experience, even negative, is “the son of difficult mistakes.”
More rubrics:Zhanna Birich is the first female vice-mayor in the history of Minsk. In an interview with the Zvyazda newspaper, she spoke about what she did in her post for the city, why students were not returned travel benefits, and what problems in the life of the capital are the most acute.
- Zhanna Eduardovna, you are from Pleschenitsy. How long ago did you become a Minsker?
- 10 years ago. Then I came to work at the Minsk Oblast Executive Committee as the chairman of the economy committee. Prior to that, she worked in Logoisk for 19 years. She passed all positions from a specialist to the deputy chairman of the district executive committee for economics. I have been the vice-mayor of Minsk for only 8 months.
- What have you managed to do for the city during this time?
- Managed to get rid of the red tape work with the consideration of investors' applications. 66 agreements with foreign investors have already been signed in absentia. And we are not going to stop there. Recently, together with colleagues, I was at an investment forum in Dubai. We tried to adequately present our city, to show its investment attractiveness.
What are your goals for the next year?
- Raise $950 million next year foreign investment. To this end, we plan to hold our own investment forum to show investors all the possibilities of Minsk. It is also necessary to develop trade at a faster pace, to pull up the hotel and restaurant business, which is still at a low level in our country.
- What problems of the capital concern you the most as a leader?
- Actual problem- small business development. Of all registered private enterprises, only 7-8% are manufacturing businesses. Need to develop it: help soft loans, preferences for rent. I see the future of the metropolis behind small mobile enterprises that use innovation. It is also worrying that smart and enterprising people, of whom there are quite a lot in Belarus, go abroad.
- You are in charge of public transport, but what do you use to get to work?
- By company car. But on weekends I try to use public transport. Since I supervise it, I must see all possible shortcomings through the eyes of a passenger. In general, I like to walk.
The new school year is just around the corner. Students are interested in whether they can ride public transport, as it was before, for free.
- Until we introduce free travel for students. The benefit will only apply to students. Indeed, today in our country the cheapest public transport fare is already: passengers pay only 30% of its cost. In particular, in Kyiv for one trip to the subway you need to pay 2200 Belarusian rubles, but we have only 1,500. The budget simply cannot afford to pay for student travel. We need to bring the city into proper condition for the World Hockey Championship: invest in the repair of roads, streets, yards. Building the infrastructure needed for new homes also requires a lot of money.
