“Chamber” to cancel Allowances to Children and Students :: Charter'97 :: News

Discounts on transport fees for students and medicines for small children have been taken for granted. Recently the Government has declared to the deputies that these allowances are excessive. The news was confirmed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka at his conference with Belarusian journalists. Belarusians are going to face cancellation of the allowances in the near future.

As it was learned by the “KP in Belarus” newspaper, it is envisaged to deprive the children under three years of free medicines, which are legally available now. Student and schoolchildren are to be deprived of their 50% discount on city and suburban public transport fees.

Schoolchildren and full-time students will lose their 50 % discount on traveling fee inside the republic, which was due on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays for the period from 1 October until 30 June. Full-time students will not be able to travel home for half price during their winter vacations. They had such benefit for all days since 1 January to the last day of February.

Disabled children may be deprived of their right for free traveling throughout the country (the discount was valid for them since 1 October to 15 March and one more time beyond that period). Moreover, children with the chronic kidneys insufficiency at its terminal stage were provided with annual monetary repayment of their transport expenses. The bill creators considered that allowance excessive, too.

The bill on ordering allowances has not been finalized, yet. Probably, the deputies will manage to protect some of the enumerated benefits, or maybe, the public representative will succeed in struggling for the benefits. The deputies are going to meet them 27 April. The final dot is to be put in the bill at the end of May in the “chamber of representatives”.

Alyaksandr Lukashenka”Allowances are to be directed to the family”

“As far as the bill and the people’s response to it which are being discussed now in the parliament are concerned, it was the previous parliament which was to adopt them. Thus, there is nothing to be discussed. These allowances have been already stopped by my order. Simply they are to be introduced into the law, the law is to be amended. But that was not popular before the elections. Then I met the demands of the parliamentarians and didn’t force the Government to regulate these issues. Whether it is beneficial or not, the amendments have to be introduced into the law. I made the decision several times; I explained why we must not give these allowances. These allowances are going to be directed to families with many children, to foodstuffs for children, to mothers, to families, to public health for obstetric care. Why have I committed that? Not to be rebuked that I have taken from them and given to the industry. No, I have given that to children. And we are going to return more that the volume of the cancelled allowances”.