3.3. Regional / Local level of the administrative system

3.3.1. Institutions at regional level. Their functions and tasks

The system of local government bodies consists of regional, district, city, town and village executive committees and city district administrations. The Law "On Local Government and Self-governance" stipulates centralized procedures for forming executive committees and appointing their chairmen, and assigns them the more powerful role in governing local territories. Thus, the heads of local executive and administrative bodies is appointed and dismissed by the President of the Republic of Belarus or to the order determined by the President, and their appointment is to be subject to the approval of the local councils of deputies.

Executive Committee.

Executive committees are established in a centralized manner. They are delegated a wide range of organizational and administrative powers. Responsibilities of the executive committees include drafting plans and programs for local economic and social development, local budgets and plans for managing community property They organize the collection and utilization of budgetary funds and make decisions on issuing local securities and conducting auctions. Executive committees manage local property and financial resources; decide upon the establishment, reorganization or closure of community enterprises, agencies and organizations; and conclude leases and other economic agreements with legal entities or individuals. In accordance with legally established procedures, they organize state control over the entire territory for the protection of air quality, water, forests, subsoil assets, animal and plant life, and may suspend economic activities or construction if environmental or other legislation is violated. The executive committees are also enjoined to take measures to ensure and protect the interests of the territory in court and to higher-level government bodies.
They make decisions within its competence through a simple majority of votes by committee members.
The Council of Deputes may assign the executive committee to resolve issues within the council's competence. As needed, but no less than once a year, the executive committee reports on its activities to the Council and reports to citizens at labor collective meetings and residential meetings.
Presidential Decree No. 89 (1995) approved the provisional structure for executive committees in regions, Minsk, cities of regional subordination and administrative districts. By law, the executive committee is composed of deputy heads, an executive officer, the executive committee secretary ex officio and committee members. All executive committee's members are appointed and dismissed by the head in coordination with the President or the higher-level executive committee.

Head of the Executive Committee. Heads of executive committees occupy the key position in the system of local government. The heads of regional and Minsk city executive committees are appointed by the President and approved in local council session, while the heads of other administrative-territorial units are appointed by the higher-level executive committee. Thus, heads of district and city executive committees are appointed by the head of the regional executive committee. At the same time approval of the President and relevant local council is required as well.
If the council fails to approve the proposed candidate, another candidate is nominated instead. If the council fails to approve this candidate as well, the President or regional head makes the final decision. The head of the executive committee is appointed for the same term of office as the council. Heads of the regional-level or district-level executive committee may be dismissed from office by the president or regional head, respectively, in case of legal violations, systematic failure to perform their duties, outrageous abuse of their position or other grounds prescribed by legislation.
Executive committee heads have a broad range of organizational, managing and controlling powers at their disposal. They are responsible for interactions between the executive committee and local council; define the structure and staff of the executive committee, including its secretariat; oversee the management of enterprises, agencies and organizations subordinated to the executive committee; and appoint or discharge their managers. Executive committee heads appoint government representatives to the managing bodies of joint-stock companies or other communally owned economic entities. In addition, heads also manage loans for budgetary expenditures. Heads of regional and Minsk city executive committees are accountable to the president and the central government, while the heads of district and city executive committees are accountable to the head of the regional executive committee. On issues related to council activities, they are accountable to the local council.

Local Administration in Municipal Districts.

The President abolished existed earlier municipal district councils and their executive bodies by Presidential Decree No. 383 on the Reform of Local Government and Self-government Bodies (1995). They were replaced by local administrations, which were government bodies of general competence. The same decree also approved the Provisional Regulation on Local Administration. The city executive committee appoints the head of local administration and his or her deputies. All other officials are directly appointed by the head of the city district administration. The city district administration ensures the execution of all government-related functions in the appropriate territory according to legislation, council decisions and decisions of executive committee commissions.
However, horizontal relations exist between councils and executive committees of the relevant administrative-territorial unit. The formal approval of local councils is required for the appointment of executive committee heads. Within legally established limits, councils define procedures for managing community property and resolving other issues of local importance for the executive bodies. However, these horizontal links in the structure of local government are insignificant.

Local Government Functions

The status of local government as part of public administration manifests itself in the distribution of responsibilities.
The Law on Local Government, together with other legislation, regulates the competencies of local authorities, in particular those of the executive bodies. Their powers are regulated by acts of the President, the central government and central agencies and primarily concern the performance of strictly public administration functions, such as registering commercial entities, issuing licenses or carrying out priority national programs (including distribution of food, import substitution and others).
Local governments have a wide range of powers, as follows:

  • drafting programs for territorial development, housing, roads, social services and the environment;
  • adopting the local budget, local taxes and duties;
  • defining the legal regime for local property within legally established limits;
  • approving the allocation of enterprises not in local ownership;
  • managing and exercising control over the use of land, subsoil assets, forests and other natural resources;
  • organizing construction and repairs of housing, public utilities, shops and service facilities;
  • providing tax benefits;
  • protecting civic rights and freedoms;
  • registering acts of civil status;
  • calling people or entities to account for administrative infractions.

Local governments in cities, districts and regions are also responsible for supervising local police and fire departments.
In addition to the functions listed above, district-level local governments possess the following responsibilities:

  • approving the allocation of mass media and enterprises with foreign capital investment;
  • state registration of economic entities and branches of political parties, trade unions and other public associations;
  • licensing wholesale trade, with the exception of alcohol and tobacco, pawnshops, casinos and bookmakers;
  • allocating or resuming plots of land in areas around cities of district subordination, reserve lands or forests, in coordination with village executive committees; settling land disputes;
  • protecting consumer rights;
  • ensuring increased volume of industrial and agricultural production, improved quality and competitiveness and the increase in commodity turnover; adopting asures for reducing payment defaults by local economic entities;
  • facilitating employment.

Regional governments, particularly regional executive committees, play the dominant role in the system of local government. Although legally speaking, they do not possess administrative control over other local governments, in practice, regional governments issue mandatory instructions and control implementation of all aspects of local government activity at lower levels. In addition, regional governments are assigned the following functions:

  • allotting land plots and settling land disputes;
  • approving state registration of holding companies, economic associations and others, within the framework of anti-monopoly control;
  • ensuring state registration of economic entities and local public associations;
  • ensuring balanced local budgets by establishing limits on the permissible level of local deficit;
  • submitting proposals to the government on amendments to regional boundaries, on establishing or merging districts and on defining the borders of towns or cities of district subordination;
  • regulating pricing within their competence;
  • issuing licenses for secondary schools, lyceums and gymnasiums or for wholesale trade in alcohol and tobacco;
  • implementing programs and measures designed to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl accident;
  • maintaining regional health facilities, such as clinics, hospitals and dispensaries;
  • carrying out state control over the protection of air quality, water, forests, subsoil assets, plant and animal life;
  • establishing administrative penalties for the violation of public order, if not otherwise regulated by law.

Regional legislative bodies may also be legally authorized to perform additional government functions.
Decisions of local executive and administrative authorities that are contrary to the law is to be reversed by the relevant councils of deputies, superior executive and administrative bodies and the President
Schematically, the functional structure of local government and self- government may be represented as follows.

Figure 2. Structure of local government and self- government


Levels and specific aspects of the administrative system:

aspect

level

institution(s)

authority/ function

tasks

national level

 

Government  - Council of Ministers

  • Administration and governing the system of subordinate bodies of state administration and other executive organs.
  • Elaboration of the basic guidelines of the domestic and foreign policy.
  • Drafting of national budget and an account of its implementation; etc.

 

 
  • To ensure the implementation of the Constitution, the laws, decrees, edicts and instructions of the President;
  • To ensure the execution of a uniform economic, financial, credit and monetary policy, and state policy in the field of science, culture, education, health care, ecology, social security and remuneration for labour;
  • To take measures to secure the rights and liberties of citizens, safeguard the interests of the state, national security and defense, protection of property, maintain public order and eliminate crime; etc.

Ministries and State Committees 

  • Working out general strategy at sectors.
  • Elaboration of national cross-sectoral and sectoral programs.
  • Preparatory work of the government, directing and supervising institutions agencies and institutions within relating sector of administration.
  • To implement general strategy at activity sectors.
  • To report to the Government.

local level

Regional sublevel
  • Regional Executive Committees 

  • Executive Committee of Minsk city 
  • Drafting programs for territorial development, housing, roads, social services and the environment;
  • Adopting the local budget, local taxes and duties;
  • Defining the legal regime for local property within legally established limits;
  • Approving the allocation of enterprises not in local ownership;
  • Managing and exercising control over the use of land, subsoil assets, forests and other natural resources;
  • Organizing construction and repairs of housing, public utilities, shops and service facilities;
  • Providing tax benefits;
  • Calling people or entities to account for administrative infractions
  • To resolve issues of local significance, proceeding from national interests and the interests of the people who reside in the relevant territory, and implement the decisions of higher state bodies, within the limits of their competence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic sublevel
  • Administrative District Executive Committees 


  • Municipal Executive Committees 

 

Primary sublevel
  • Municipal Executive Committee (town of district subordination

  • Combined Body - Executive Committee & Council of Deputies of townships, and rural settlements