‘We are committed to creation only’

The President of Belarus, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has paid a working visit to Grodno

Andrei Stasevich 

The Head of State visited the construction site of a new city hospital, where he heard a report by Healthcare Minister Aleksandr Khodzhayev. 
“We need to make our medicine people’s, as we used to say — so that it is accessible to everyone, on equal terms,” the President set the main task for the Minister.
Aleksandr Khodzhayev reported that the instructions of the Head of State, including on pricing and personnel, are being fulfilled. The President was also reported on the socio-economic development of Grodno Region. Governor Vladimir Karanik stressed that all social obligations had been fulfilled in the region — the growth of nominal wages amounted to 18 percent in 2023 and exceeded 19 percent in January – February 2024, while the growth of the gross regional product nearly reached 8 percent. “Further development of the region is impossible without investments, therefore 114 projects are being implemented in Grodno Region,” noted the Chairman of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee. According to him, as part of the President’s One District — One Project programme, 21 projects have been approved, which are currently at different stages of implementation. The construction and modernisation of many social facilities, including schools and an oncologic dispensary, continues. 
At the construction site of a new healthcare facility, the Head of State was informed about the progress of the hospital construction. According to the plans, it will replace the bed capacity of two old hospitals in Grodno, and will include mainly therapeutic departments with endovascular surgery rooms as well as diagnostic departments. The hospital is designed for more than 500 beds.  
The President asked about the timing for the completion of the new city hospital construction. It was planned that it should take about 50 months. 
“It is a long time,” the Head of State responded. “We have to build it in two years.” 
During the working trip, Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in the solemn ceremony of laying the capsule at the construction site of the new city hospital in Grodno.
The Head of State pointed out that not only the text placed inside the capsule is a message to descendants, but also all the numerous facilities that have been created, built and upgraded over the years of Belarus’ independence. 
“This is a message to future generations,” the President stated. “We want Belarusians to live, make families, study, work, relax in beautiful, cosy and comfortable cities and villages. We are doing everything so that everyone has the opportunity to receive a decent education, first of all.” 
It should be noted, though, that Belarusians sometimes have to create not thanks to life circumstances, but in spite of them.
Aleksandr Lukashenko explained why he once forbade the Government and officials to complain about the sanctions, “I proceeded from simple logic: if an executive, a civil servant, a director of an enterprise is given an opportunity to dodge work, they will grab the opportunity. This is why I told them right away that there are no sanctions. I told them to forget that sanctions exist. What difference does it make to our people whether the sanctions exist or not? They want to live. They want to work. The time has chosen us to solve this problem, and we must do everything for our people to be able to live, work and support their families. Taking care of children, grandchildren, everyone who will come after us — this is the essence of today’s moment and the idea of today’s event.”  
The President is convinced that in 50-100 years, given the development of information technologies, the next generations will know everything and even more about the current ones. “But will this knowledge be true? Will Belarusians of the future see our true intentions amid these arrays of information? That is why we are leaving a message here. It contains our sincere hopes, and all of them are prompted by the desire for peace and creation,” the Head of State underlined. “In addition, the current solemn ceremony serves as a message to the neighbouring countries of Belarus.” 

“After all, we are now also digging the ground, just like them, very close to the border. Our goals are completely different, though. They dig trenches, anti-tank trenches and other things, and increase the costs for shock weapons. And here, we direct two-thirds of the region’s budget to social sphere. We want to build our peaceful future. We are committed to creation only,” the President emphasised. “Do not believe anyone who says that we want to fight. We are preparing in case of war — I am talking about this frankly. ‘If you want peace, prepare for war’ — it is not me who came up with this statement. This is very well said.”

According to the Belarusian leader, the necessary training of the relevant units is being carried out in the country, with various types of weapons and equipment being supplied to the troops. 
The Head of State stressed that Belarus does not threaten anyone in any way, “We do not need to threaten anyone. We do not want anyone else’s land. We need to cultivate the one we have, God willing. Belarus has big plans, and they will be implemented.” The President also added, “We will accomplish a lot more together with you, but the main thing for us to do is to make sure that our children achieve even more based on what we have done. We need to lay some groundwork for our children.”  
Aleksandr Lukashenko called the healthcare facility in Grodno, which is now under construction, an object of strategic importance with flexible functionality. In other words, it is envisaged that the hospital building will have four wings, each of which can be isolated if required. Thus, the experience of medical institutions during the coronavirus pandemic has been taken into account.  
The President drew attention to the fact that the Government has created opportunities in Belarus for people’s development as well as for earning money. Figuratively speaking, people have been provided with a fishing rod, and they need to ‘go fishing’ themselves — be active, take initiative, and work in order to have a decent standard of living. 
“If we do not work hard, we will be in trouble,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed. “The main thing is to have opportunities for work. The Government should provide such opportunities.”  
The Auls production site of the Grodno Glassworks is a fine example of how to resist sanctions            BELTA



The President’s words are especially relevant in relation to representatives of the younger generation. The Head of State highlighted the fact that all opportunities and conditions have been created in the country for schoolchildren from various families and regions of Belarus to enter universities and gain a higher education. A system of providing knowledge and its objective assessment has been developed in order to select capable students for universities. 
Another example is the support of families with many children — a plot of land is allotted to them with an opportunity to build a house, including for running a personal subsidiary farm, and to instill work ethic in children. Unfortunately, however, it is not uncommon when the land is not cultivated and the areas around the houses remain neglected.
In a solemn ceremony, the President put his signature under the message to future generations, which was placed inside a capsule. Aleksandr Lukashenko laid it in a memorial stone installed at the hospital construction site. In the message to the descendants, the current time in the history of sovereign Belarus is characterised as interesting and challenging, 

“We live a peaceful and happy life — we are building our beloved, independent Belarus together. However, our hearts ache. We are writing to you because the world around us is changing. We live in an era of unprecedented scientific and technological progress compared to past centuries, yet billions are being spent on weapons and regional conflicts. The planet is on fire. Entire nations are losing their homes and trying to find shelter thousands of kilometres away from their homeland. We help everyone who asks for help, and we do everything to preserve the fragile peace on this God-given land. We believe that we will succeed in preserving it. Therefore, we are building kindergartens, schools, polyclinics, hospitals, new production facilities, cultural, sports and shopping and entertainment centres.”

The text mentions the milestone date which is celebrated in 2024 — the 80th anniversary of Belarus’ liberation from Nazi invaders.
“We have a thousand-year history of the Belarusian people behind us, and we believe that it continues with your great deeds! We believe that sooner or later all the energy, mind and intellect of humanity will be focused solely on creation, that you will step further and go beyond the Solar System!” the message reads.
When communicating with the participants of the solemn ceremony of laying the capsule, Aleksandr Lukashenko made an emphasis on the fact that he does not have a hidden agenda in politics, and that all the actions taken are aimed at benefiting the Belarusian people living across the country, from Grodno to Orsha [cities in the western and northern regions, correspondingly]. 
The President urged people to value their land, above all, and do their best to ensure better people’s lives on it, “Stay together and live in peace with each other. We will have enough of everything as we have enough land. As long as we have our own land, we will live a normal life. But if you lose your anchor and forget your roots here, there will be trouble.”  

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by