Delegate of the VII All-Belarusian People’s Assembly: we managed to make a huge leap forward

Vitaly Panasyuk, Deputy Director and Chief Engineer of the Gomel Car Building Plant, came to the enterprise more than 20 years ago as a young specialist and, by his example, felt how caring for work and active participation in the social and political life of Belarus allow him to get not only the position of top manager of a large plant, but also the authority to decide the fate of the country in the status of a delegate of the VII All-Belarusian People’s Assembly.

When the first All-Belarusian People's Assembly was held in October 1996, Vitaly Panasyuk was an ordinary Gomel schoolboy, but together with the older generation he waited for the results of this fateful event:

- I grew up in a family of workers whose wages were delayed for months. The country was storming like a ship straying off course. Yes, we elected the President, but he was not allowed to steer the ship. At that time, there were enough people in the Supreme Soviet who were more interested in the struggle for power than the interests of ordinary people. My parents, like many around me, waited with cautious hope. The People’s Congress, convened on the initiative and firm will of the Head of State, helped to unite society, to lead production away from widespread destructive privatization and to set clear guidelines for saving the country, which eventually embarked on the path of building a socially oriented state.

Based on his own work experience, the delegate notes:

- During the two decades of my working biography, not only the factory, but also the entire industry of Belarus changed before my eyes, which managed to preserve while in many countries of the former USSR large enterprises went under the hammer or were demolished. 30 years ago in Belarus, everything was different – a shopping center could stand on the site of the Gomel plant or weeds could grow at all. For me, as a person whose life is inextricably linked with the real sector of the economy, the status of a delegate of the All-Belarusian People’s Assembly is, first of all, a colossal personal responsibility to the staff of the native enterprise and the residents of our region. The SSC has become a reliable shield of sovereignty for Belarus. Now the whole world is storming worse than we were in the early 1990s. In the context of this global turbulence, it is the decisions of the People’s Congress that determine the long-term development strategy of the Belarusian state, guaranteeing peace and stability.

Speaking about the tasks that the delegates face today, Vitaly Panasyuk highlights the main thing: Today, we sometimes take stability, security and social guarantees for granted. But behind this prosperity lies the colossal daily work of millions of Belarusians and the unbending will of our President. We managed to make a huge leap forward: from empty shelves and wage delays, we came to a strong, independent and peaceful country. Our main task today is to preserve these achievements, continue to create in our workplaces and pass on to future generations the basis for confidence in the future. We must preserve continuity, not succumb to external provocations and build the future of the country on the basis of unity, loyalty to traditions and hard creative work. boyarchuk@sb.by