Lukashenko reiterates his opinion on transfer of presidential powers to other authorities

President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, on March 4, tasked officials with preparing a draft decree to delegate some presidential powers to other government bodies, as reported by BELTA.

"We need to prepare a draft decree so that governors do not have to keep coming to me. They should make decisions locally, especially for parallel projects, construction, and other matters. In extreme cases, they can coordinate with industry officials—vice premiers—since we have elevated their status. They can coordinate with them, and we will oversee. Except for land allocation issues, because land matters are sacred and will remain with the President for now. Everything else should be left to them to decide," said Alexander Lukashenko.

According to him, there are currently many formalities involved in this process. "I mainly sign off on and support the requests of local authorities. They should make their own decisions. From the perspective of transferring powers downward, we need to look at freeing the President from unnecessary functions. In the worst case, let the minister or vice-premier handle certain issues. And within a day, once coordinated, governors and local authorities should be able to manage independently and take charge of construction," the President emphasized.