The improvement of control and supervisory activities was the topic of a meeting with the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, on May 21, as reported by a BELTA correspondent.
Lukashenko sent the draft decree on control and supervisory activities for revision, but some innovations have already been announced.
A draft decree was submitted for the meeting, providing for the adjustment of regulatory legal acts in this area. The Head of State noted that this topic, given its importance, is not being addressed at the presidential level for the first time. In 2009, based on Decree No. 510, a comprehensive and optimal control system was established in the country. Eight years later, in 2017, it was comprehensively modernized based on the needs of the state and society, as well as taking into account the wishes of certain "particularly complaining" and "overworked" individuals who found the number of inspections excessive. The list of controlling bodies was revised, duplicate control areas were reduced, and requirements for scheduling inspections and the work of controllers were tightened.
As a result, the Committee of State Control annually reports a reduction in the inspection burden on economic entities," said Alexander Lukashenko. According to the KGC reports, last year, compared to 2019, the total number of inspections decreased by almost 30% (from 8,822 in 2019 to 6.5 thousand in 2023).
"However, it must be acknowledged that despite the improvement in statistical indicators, negative trends in this area have not yet been eradicated," the President pointed out. "In particular, under the guise of preventive forms of control – various types of monitoring, technical inspections – full-fledged inspections are sometimes carried out. Everyone knows perfectly well what a full-fledged inspection is in terms of content and time. Sometimes they sit there for months when everything can be done in a few days. Overall, across the country, the figure for such events (allegedly preventive) per year is around 300,000. You must agree, that's an impressive figure."
"And only after I pointed out the unacceptability of such an approach, the figures were reduced by approximately half," the Head of State noted.
Alexander Lukashenko stated that, unfortunately, the practice of multiple visits to the same enterprise on identical issues had not ceased. "Inspectors, coming one after another, demand a colossal amount of documentation. That is, they are actually engaged in bureaucratic fuss and nitpicking, as people say," the Head of State pointed out the shortcomings. And he gave specific examples.
During the grain harvesting period (July - August 2022), inspectors visited OAO "Osnezhitskoye" 49 times. Although this farm can be considered average in terms of performance in the Pinsk district. However, entries in the inspection logbook were made only twice. "And as the President's aides and governors report to me, such examples, alas, are not isolated," the President called attention to. On the one hand, the Head of State makes allowances for the fact that governors and enterprise managers may naturally consider the number of inspection events excessive. "But there is no smoke without fire," Alexander Lukashenko remarked.
"The most outrageous thing is that sometimes they inspect completely the wrong organizations. There is no other explanation for the case when I have to personally intervene to restore order, as with pricing," said Alexander Lukashenko.
The efforts of inspectors, according to the Head of State, are often aimed precisely at finding shortcomings and applying penalties, although they should be aimed at improving the performance of enterprises. "We need not fines and punishments or some kind of sanctions, but an improvement in the work of enterprises," the Head of State emphasized.
Earlier, the President had instructed to thoroughly address the situation and change the style and methods of work. In execution of this, the government has prepared a draft decree on improving control and supervisory activities. Its development took more than two years. "The Presidential Administration and the government reviewed it several times, involving all interested departments. As a result, the draft contains a number of innovations. From shifting the focus of control bodies towards prevention to excluding the prosecutor's office from the scope of Decree No. 510," the Head of State noted.
Given the significance of this legal act for the country, the President intends to make a final decision only after a comprehensive discussion. To the participants of the meetingI, Alexander Lukashenko, addressed a number of issues, in particular, whether the work of enterprises will become more effective after the signing of this document, whether the inspection burden will be reduced, and at the same time, whether control will not be weakened. "I am now talking about those areas where there is a real risk of harm to national security, the life and health of citizens," the Head of State clarified.
The President asked whether all problematic issues would be resolved with the adoption of the decree and inquired about the opinion of the Interdepartmental Council for Control and Supervisory Activities on this matter.
"I want to warn you again: there should be no pressure on enterprises, organizations, economic entities, and people. We must not hinder people from working," Alexander Lukashenko emphasized. "But if someone deserves to be inspected, they should be inspected as much as necessary. Cries and moans are absolutely useless here. Control and law enforcement agencies should treat our enterprises as their own children – they feed us. Therefore, we must not interfere with their work. The system must be built, and it must work."
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