10 July, Vitebsk /Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. More than a dozen heads of organisations have been disciplined since the beginning of the year in the Vitebsk region for violating the procedure for responding to criticism in the mass media, the Vitebsk Regional Committee for State Control informed BELTA. The Committee for State Control (KGC) exercises constant control over compliance with the requirements of the decree "On the response of officials to critical statements in state mass media", which defines the procedure for state body officials and organisations to respond to critical statements in the media. Heads of organisations are personally responsible for ensuring that critical materials are reviewed, response measures are taken, and within one month from the date of publication or broadcast of such messages, the media outlet is notified of the results of the review and the measures taken. However, the KGC continues to identify violations by some heads, which manifest as failure to notify or untimely sending of information on the results of the review of critical materials to the media. Based solely on the violations identified in the first half of the current year, 12 managers of organisations in Gluboksky, Gorodoksky, Miorsky, Senno and Tolochinsky districts, as well as Vitebsk, have been disciplined. The Vitebsk Regional KGC draws the attention of heads of organisations and enterprises of all forms of ownership to the need for strict compliance with the requirements of the decree and reminds that failure to comply with its provisions without valid reasons entails the application of disciplinary measures to the heads of organisations, up to dismissal from their positions. -0-

BELTA