New legislation to deprive students of benefits
How much money did the social benefits help to save? What are those receiving social benefits are going to lose? It seems that students will be hit the most.
“The bus ticket to Hrodna costs almost Br40,000 ($20). When I travel home to my parent on days-off, I can afford a ticket of Br20,000. Before, I would go home every two weeks. I also need to add expenses for public transportation.
At least every day, I take a public bus to the university and back home. Even if I save Br1000, it totals up to Br30,000 per month. All in all, I save around Br70,000 monthly. This amounts to an average stipend that students get,” says Volha, a last-year student from the Belarus State University.
War veterans and the former forced labor workers in the Nazi concentration camps will also be affected by the abolishment of the 50-percent discount for utility bills. Those living in a two-room flat currently could save around Br500,000 ($250) within six months.
The deputy chief of Lukashenka’s administration had the following reason to justify the proposed cuts in social benefits. “We could save the benefits, but people would face utility bills three or four-times more expensive,” she said. Apparently, Natallia Petkevich did not take into account that the war veterans and the former prisoners of concentration camps pay for their communal services, too.
But, some benefits were introduced irrationally, suggests Nina Ignatovich. Her father is a war veteran and an invalid. Her mother is a former prisoner in a German concentration camp, also an invalid.
“My mother has been in bed for four years after the stroke. Apparently, she does not need a free ride in public transport. It would be better if the government helped her with vitamins and pampers. Or let’s look at the free teeth prosthetics. There has always been a huge waiting list for this service. So, my father did his teeth for money, because he has not time to wait in this age. Nobody refunded him this money,” Nina says.
Nina Turkovich, a mother of three-year-old Palina, could not take use of benefits for children, either.
“My kid was seriously sick for two years. The necessary efficient drugs are expensive, and the doctor would say she could not prescribe them because she had cheap drugs as a priority. So, she would prescribe the drugs that she could prescribe. You could save very little, may be one thousand or two, not more. I opened my file for free drugs. We have just pennies there,” she told our radio.
Now let’s calculate how much a family from Hrodna can lose because of the abolishment of social benefits. The family includes the grandmother (a war veteran), the mother, the father, a student who studies in Minks and a schoolboy. The grandmother will lose Br70,000 on utility bills. The student will spend the same amount for travel.
The schoolboy who rides public transport to his school will lose Br13,000. The grandmother could also lose not more than Br5,000 when using public transport. The whole family will lose around Br160,000 per month
Photo by images.yandex.ru
