Lukashenko: President should no longer perform tasks outside his traditional role
MINSK, 1 October (BelTA) – It is necessary to keep working on the redistribution of powers, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he met with senior officials of the Belarus President Administration on 1 October, BelTA has learned.
“Had we embarked on the redistribution of powers early enough, perhaps we would not have needed constitutional amendments now. We need to realize that after a quarter of a century, the president should no longer perform major tasks that are not part of his job description,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
The president noted that it is necessary to explain to people as clearly as possible which government bodies are responsible for what: “The economy is primarily the domain of the government, Golovchenko [Belarus’ prime minister]. Unpopular or popular laws and other legislative matters are the responsibility of Andreichenko and Kochanova [speakers of the lower and upper chambers of the parliament Vladimir Andreichenko and Natalya Kochanova], the legislative branch of power. One should bear a certain responsibility for that. Personnel matters, ideology, politics and some other issues are the tasks of Head of the Belarus President Administration Igor Sergeyenko and his deputies. Now the president has to take care of everything,” the president said.
“There was a time when we needed concentration of power. Yet, today we should decentralize it, distribute by areas of responsibility. The power will have to be transferred to someone at some point. But this power should be well structured, and the Constitution should dot the i’s and cross the t’s in this matter,” Aleksandr Lukashenko concluded.