MOZYR DISTRICT, 24 April (BelTA) – Belarusian President Lukashenko stated that today’s generation of experienced professionals must build a country that can be safely passed on to future generations during a seminar on 24 April, BelTA has learned.
“We are grown adults. But there are people like Dmitry Krutoi, and even younger, who did not live through those times. And even if some did, they were not interested in it. They lack experience,” the head of state noted. “Experience is built over years and decades. So Dmitry Krutoi and the youngest generation need to learn from us right now.”
“Therefore, we need to quickly do what we know how to do. Our children will not do this. They are good, they know their way around the internet and all that. They are smart and smarter than us in some ways. But without food and clothes, neither they nor anyone else will have anything. We are the experienced ones, and we need to use whatever time we have got left here to create a country that we can pass on to them,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
“We must do something in every area. Otherwise, all of it will be lost,” the head of state warned.
As an example, he pointed to the development program for the Pripyat Polesie region, including land preservation, reclamation, and the creation of production facilities. Aleksandr Lukashenko recalled how, in the early years of his presidency, he visited this region and people asked him to provide them with the most basic necessity – bread. Since then, of course, tremendous work has been done and solid results have been achieved. But this does not mean that one can rest on one’s laurels. “I do not want this to happen again later [for the situation of the early 1990s to repeat itself]. And in Polesie, it would happen very quickly, even instantly. Let things slide for two or three years – and everything will become overgrown,” the president explained.
The head of state tasked officials with improving farming practices, noting that Gomel Oblast has already seen some positive progress in this regard. At least on the lands he saw from the helicopter while en route to this working trip. “Tidy and well-kept – the fields are properly cultivated. You can see that people have put effort into them. This is how it should be everywhere,” he said. There are good examples in other regions too, but there are also places where waterlogged areas persist, and that needs to be dealt with.
Aleksandr Lukashenko also called for continued efforts to develop the country’s agricultural industry and to carry out land reclamation. “Land reclamation must be carried out. We cannot afford to lose these lands. The people here in Polesie know how to work and they want to work. So, both private farms and collective and state farms need to develop it [agriculture],” the Belarusian leader stressed.
The president also stressed the importance of industrial enterprises and major urban organizations providing support to agricultural organizations. This primarily involves bringing in specialists during the busy agricultural season. In this regard, the issue of keeping staff in rural areas was also discussed, including the construction of rental housing. The head of state also drew particular attention to the timely payment of wages to agricultural workers.
“The country must be prepared. Then the younger generation will not turn away from it. They will already know how [to act]. That is the whole point,” Aleksandr Lukashenko added. “You and I have to get this done. And we have less and less time to do it.”
“On the surface, the country exists, everyone is happy. But no, there’s still a lot that needs modernizing in every area,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
