State budget to allocate over Br660bn to alleviate Chernobyl aftermath in 2008
The national budget of Belarus is supposed to allocate Br625.296 billion while local budgets are supposed to apportion Br36 billion for alleviating consequences of the Chernobyl disaster in 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Kosinets told a session of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly on April 24.
In particular, Br307 billion will go to the Gomel oblast, Br70 billion — the Mogilev oblast, Br44 billion — the Brest oblast. There are plans to apportion Br101 billion for recreation and Br94.8 billion for free meals for children in contaminated areas.
More attention will be paid to agriculture mechanization and providing the latest agricultural technologies, said the Vice Premier.
He also said, soon heads of local executive bodies in areas affected by the Chernobyl disaster will present their programmes for developing the regions.
Alexander Kosinets drew attention to workforce problems in Chernobyl-affected areas. For example, the shortage of doctors approaches 5,000 people and is supposed to be resolved only by 2013. There is a shortage of agribusiness specialists. Every year around 300 graduates are assigned jobs in these affected areas but only in the Gomel oblast alone the shortage makes 600 people. The Vice Premier believes opening a branch of the Gorki Agricultural Academy or setting up an independent higher educational establishment could be a way out.
The Vice Premier remarked, after working for two years in positions assigned after graduation, only 27% of agribusiness specialists stay there. The official named lack of housing as the main reason for the drain of young specialists. “In 2007 196 apartments were allocated for young specialists, while we sent more than a thousand teachers there alone,” stressed Vice Premier.
