An off-site extended meeting of the Presidium of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus in Ushachi is reviewing the work with citizens' appeals received from residents of the Vitebsk region, in particular, during the recent unified day of reception by parliamentarians.
As Natalya Kochanova noted, the statistics on citizens' appeals in the Vitebsk region are quite positive. There are significantly fewer complaints.
– You know what attention is paid to work with citizens' appeals. The President, addressing the parliament at the All-Belarusian People's Assembly, said: we must first and foremost work attentively with people. This was his main message to the country's parliamentary corps. This applies not only to the parliament but to all deputies. Attentive attitude, knowledge of problems, what people are concerned about, what issues need to be resolved at one stage or another of our development – this is fundamental for us.
The Speaker of the upper house of Parliament drew attention to the fact that the plan for working on draft laws for 2026 has been approved, including the draft "On Amendments to the Law of the Republic of Belarus 'On Citizens' and Legal Entities' Appeals'."
– To be honest, this work is structured quite clearly in our country. We understand the task, the frequency of citizens' receptions, and how to work with appeals today. But sometimes, a simply attentive attitude towards people is lacking. I became convinced of this at the last citizens' reception, which took place on February 4. When people start asking questions, I realize that we haven't reached them. Deputies, representatives of the authorities haven't reached them. We haven't covered certain information in the local newspaper or on television to make it clear, – emphasized Natalya Kochanova.
Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Department for Healthcare of the Regional Executive Committee, noted that the number of appeals concerning the work of the sector in the Vitebsk region is small. This is the result of targeted work.
– Over the year, the heads of the main department held 56 personal receptions, and a hot telephone line operates on weekdays. The first place in the list of the most pressing appeals is occupied by those related to personnel in one way or another. This is natural, as the quality of assistance directly depends on the personnel potential. Over the last 5 years, the staffing of doctors has increased by 3%, and for mid-level medical workers by 2%. The provision of medical care per 10,000 population has also increased by 2% since 2020. However, the Vitebsk region lags behind other regions of the republic. Therefore, we are paying attention to the retention of medical personnel in their first jobs and the reduction of turnover. Annually, recruitment for targeted specialist training takes place. The number of targeted places has been significantly increased. An evening form of training for nurses has been opened, and since 2022, students have been recruited on the basis of 9th-grade education, – explained Mikhail Vishnevetsky.
Every appeal from citizens is not just a letter or an electronic application. It is a direct appeal of a person to the state with the hope of being heard, – noted the Chairman of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee Alexey Geroev.
– Therefore, today we set ourselves the task not just to respond to appeals, but to build a system of effective work of the power vertical, where the promptness of response to people's requests will be a litmus test. The topics of appeals received by the City Executive Committee cover a wide range of problems. The vast majority concern the housing and communal services sector. Over the course of 2025, city residents sent 1887 such appeals, which is almost 60% of the total number, – explained Alexey Geroev.
The analysis revealed the most vulnerable areas. Thus, a significant part of the appeals to the housing and communal services sector concerns issues of repair, operation, and maintenance of the housing stock. Often, they are caused by objective reasons. Indeed, about 40% of the utility networks in the basements of the housing stock in the city of Vitebsk have increased wear and tear, which leads to frequent emergency situations and flooding of basements.
– Taking this into account, the "Basement" program is being implemented in the city. Within its framework, over the past year, current repair and replacement of utility and small networks have been carried out in 76 apartment buildings, – continued the Chairman of the City Executive Committee.