Bureaucracy wiped out in Salihorsk

At the same time an ERB journalist was told that it would be possible to meet the head of the City Executive Committee in 10 days. The head of the President’s Administration Henadz Nyavyhlas announced Salihorsk a bureaucracy-free city at the meeting on debureaucratization. It was stated that the city was completely non-bureaucratic. It was also ordered to follow the city’s example.

The European Radio for Belarus decided to check if it was true that red tape and feeding with empty hopes were gone from the city of miners. To cut a long story short, we just complained officials about bureaucracy.

It was not that easy to meet the head of the executive committee. We were explained that you could only register for it on Fridays and it was possible to meet Mr. Rymasheuski only 1.5 week later:

“The registration is on Fridays. This Friday we have a day off. So phone him next Friday. He meets people on Mondays. So you can register for next Monday”.

Thus, I did not manage to register for a meeting with the principal official of Salihorsk. I was only advised to phone next Friday.

There was a similar thing in other institutions. Nobody answered the phone in the housing and communal services association for the whole day. It was a work day. The secretary of the department of labour and social protection did not want to talk at all referring it was not a “reception day”:

“There is no registration. You can come only on Mondays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. till 5 p.m.”

There are other “debureaucratized” officials in Salihorsk Executive Committee. Thus, the head of the department on preparation of the executive committee’s meetings refused to solve the issue of visiting meetings of the local authorities. Raisa Pyatrova noted that it was not necessary to register for a meeting with her but sent the ERB reporter to another official:

“You do not need to register for a meeting with me. You should turn to the business-manager; just let me give the phone number…”

Unfortunately, nobody answered the phone there.

It happens that officials just tell you to come on another day in Salihorsk. Mikalai Mashkevich, the head of the department of education, told ERB:

“The reception day is Monday!”

So the ERB journalist did not manage to see any officials.

The European radio for Belarus phoned the administration of another town in another Region. The issue of registration for a meeting with the head of Orsha Executive Committee was solved in several minutes. ERB will be able to meet Mr. Shabadalau tomorrow:

“Let me register you – there will be reception tomorrow. What’s your surname? Come at 3 p.m. tomorrow”.

According to the dictionary of Ushakov, “bureaucracy” is a form of management when the power belongs of the administration of officials without any respect to the real interest of the masses. It is all right but what is to be done with the Instruction announcing the necessity to fight this bureaucracy.

Practice proves that there is bureaucracy in Salihorsk. Then a question to Mr. Nyavyhlas arises: if it is announced that there is no bureaucracy in the city of miners, what is going on in other Belarusian cities and towns?