Belarus President, Aleksandr Lukashenko (pictured) has hailed the country’s “established top-down power structure and executive discipline” as the reasons the Public Service continued to function smoothly despite recent civic disturbances.
However, Mr Lukashenko said there were always ways by which the system could be improved.
He told a meeting of officials considering changes to the laws governing the Public Service that it had been the institution most responsible for the country’s successful development and the improvement of the life quality and standards of its people.
“Over the past 25 years of independence we have managed to build a coherent top-down power structure, develop a compact State apparatus, and ensure the necessary executive discipline,” Mr Lukashenko said.
“The best evidence to this is the consolidation of Civil Servants and their work under the previous year’s conditions,” he said.
“It was a so-called litmus test.”
Mr Lukashenko said the main task ahead was to give an impetus to its further development.
“I believe that personnel are crucial here,” the President said.
“We need to attract to the State apparatus not just qualified and motivated professionals who can promptly solve important problems. We need true patriots.”
“With the right personnel, the system will work. When entering service, a person should understand that his or her main duty is to serve the country and the Belarusian people.”
He thought Public Servants should be visible in everyday life, perhaps by wearing insignia — “a State flag badge, for example”.
“It would be a so-called test for any Civil Servant who should be proud of his or her post. Otherwise, he or she should not be a Civil Servant,” Mr Lukashenko said.
Minsk, 8 May, 2021
