On May 22, Grodno / Vladimir Matveev - BELTA /. Ensuring the quality of life for citizens and the fulfillment of all social standards is the top priority task, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has stated. He announced this today at a meeting with the asset of the Grodno region, a BELTA correspondent reports. According to the President, the positive results achieved must be consolidated and further progress must be made. At the same time, special attention should be paid to problems and shortcomings that hinder people from living more dignified lives. The head of state cited a significant increase in the number of appeals from residents of the region, shortcomings in the social sphere, bureaucracy and red tape in considering many issues as one of the alarming signals in this regard. "Therefore, the region must first and foremost ensure the fulfillment of all social standards for the residents of the city and the countryside," the President said. At the same time, the head of state asked to pay special attention to such a state priority as housing construction. In confirmation, he cited data from sociological surveys conducted at the end of 2009, which indicate that this problem remains acute for the residents of the region. While across the country it concerns about 30% of respondents, in the Grodno region it reaches almost 40%. "We must do everything that concerns the needs of ordinary people, and first of all, we will focus on them," the President noted. At the same time, Alexander Lukashenko emphasized that it is impossible to cultivate dependency simultaneously, as if the President said it, so take it and do it for me. "A person must be responsible for himself, put his estate, his house in order," the head of state said. The President demanded that people be treated properly at the local level without fostering dependency. "Because in our villages, and in the cities too, this is rampant. To go out and sweep the street in Minsk or dig up a flowerbed - well, only if it's on a subbotnik (voluntary work day)," he noted, suggesting to revive some good traditions that existed in Soviet times. At the same time, the head of state added that, of course, it is necessary to help those who, for various reasons, cannot do everything themselves.-0-

BELTA