| Special release
18.02.2000 In Grodno in the building of the Regional executive committee the seminar on themes "The Local management, The Regional economic development, The Leadership of the law" took place. The seminar was spent on a line of the consultative - observant Group of OBCE. At the seminar there were representatives of regional council of the deputies, "vertical", trade unions, opposition parties and public organisations. The salutatory word said Mr. Klaus (the Institute of Gustav Shtrezman - Germany) and Mr. Rivolie (an adviser of Consultative-observant group of OBCE). The report "The Local management and self-management" read the Chairman of the urban Council of the deputies of Novogrudok. He according to the old kind tradition all praised and tried to convince those who are present that our business are good, the local bodies of self-management are pleased with everything and they do not need any additional powers. On the question from the audience - "Why do the local authorities forbid the construction of the Polish school in Novogrudok, the audience did not get the intelligible answer. The sharp contrast was the report of the Nikolai Silchenko a doctor of jurisprudence, a professor. From the report it became clear to everybody: in the Republic of Belarus the system of self-management is not formed. Gintautas Geguzhinskas (Lithuania, the Council of Europe) shared the Lithuanian experience of the local management. On the question of the audience about the formation of elective commissions (in the Republic of Belarus the elective commissions are formed by the executive power, people who are not devoted to the authorities are not allowed to be in the commission) the settling answer was got - all basic parties join the elective commissions of all levels (at their wish), therefore the falsification of results of election is basically excluded.
Tomas Irsa (the Czech Republic, the Council of Europe),Tadeush Vrona (a Member of the Polish Sejm), Zhan Klod Frecon (France, the Council of Europe), Tomas Prais (a co-ordinator of OBCE on the economy and environment) informed about the foreign experience. From the speeches of the foreign visitors it was possible to understand one thing: the key to the economic growth, prosperity of the country, democracy lies in the local self-management. The bodies of the local authority should be elected only by people (and should not be nominated as we do), they should have real powers and submit to the voters. The budgets of all levels should be transparent, and each tax payer at any time should know how the budget money (in Belarus this information is closed) is spent. The authority should serve to the people and not to prevent people to live.
The speech of Vladimir Malets, the Chairman of the municipal executive committee of Lida was very interesting. Vladimir Malets 25 minutes told about economic, political and social "paradise" in Lida. The numerous permitted meetings, pickets, processions, private printed editions, co-operation with foreign firms, support of the business - it impossible to enumerate all positive sides. To tell the truth, persons from the same district of Vladimir were not, softly speaking, pleased with the speech of the chairman of executive committee. They assert that in Lida it is impossible to buy milk and meat freely, the public organisations are pursued, it is impossible to register a private newspaper. There are such opposite opinions at the authority and citizens of Lida.
Rudiger Nolmann (the expert of the Institute of Gustav Shtrezman, Bonn) explained that the registration of a private enterprise in Germany is simple and is a formality which occupies no more than 10 minutes! The businessmen and public organisations are registered on the spur of the moment, i.e. has written the application and work.
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On a photo (from left to right): Irina Bairashevskaya (a chairman of the Free Trade union of the joint company and company with the limited responsibility "Alforma"), Marina S., Mishel Rivolie, Marina Levonevskaya (a chairman of the Grodno public female organisation "The Spring of Mercy" - organisation of mothers having many children).
The tax checks in Germany are carried out one time per five years! There are no shops on sale of the confiscated goods in Germany and can not be, as against Belarus the goods are not confiscated at the businessmen and other subjects of managing. Another country - another orders.
From the editors of the bulletin
We would like to pay your attention to a quite good atmosphere at this seminar. Even small friendly exchange of fire between the former Chairman of Grodno Regional executive committee and present workers of "vertical" did not spoiled the common impression from the seminar. Such meetings help to overcome a wall of misunderstanding and mistrust between "vertical" and the people. Especially we would like to point out the an openness of the employees of OBCE. They talked with pleasure with many participants of the seminar. OBCE today is a unique organisation which really works in the field of the finding of the compromise between various groups of people in our republic. We would like to point out one of the ideas which sounded at the seminar: than there are more economic, trade, political and human contacts between countries, the less probability of the occurrence of the conflicts between these countries. Today the situation in the world changes radically. The borders between the states disappear, the problems of the sovereignty and the language are the problems which have no any importance. Civilised people aspire to be united and to clean state borders. The new technologies allow to communicate visually on any distance. The world varies with huge speed. Those who does not wish to keep step with the time remain on the dump of history.
Small defects which, we hope, will be eliminated at the realisation of the following seminars:
1) It is necessary to pay more attention to the discussions, because many questions are not sounded.
2) To study more carefully a question of the participation of various organisations in seminars. The selection of the participants of the seminar in Grodno was the duty of “Ratusha” and "The Grodno Initiative". These organisations have not represented many organisations of Grodno for a long time. Moreover, they try to isolate the structures which are not included in "The Grodno Initiative" from the public and political life. There is a number of organisations which are not included into these structures but they represent broad masses of people. We would like to see more new persons at seminars.
On a photo: the chairman of the Grodno regional organisation of Free Trade unions Alexander Chernei talks with Mishel Rivolie.
The workers and businessmen are pleased with the seminar. On a photo: A. Zatsepin (a chairman of the Free Trade union of the Fine-cloth Factory at the left) and A. Vasiliev, a leader of the Grodno businessmen.
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