Havana, Apr. 1st. - In the midst of the complex situation that the country is experiencing and that requires extraordinary efforts in every sense, the member of the Political Bureau and Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, insisted, when directing the most recent meeting of the Council of Ministers, in the importance of “always being at the side of the people, especially in the search for solutions to mitigate or eliminate the problems that have been accumulating for us.”
The Prime Minister spoke about explaining in a timely manner and always listening to the concerns and proposals of the population at the meeting, which was chaired by the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez.
As has been the case at every moment of the Revolution, Marrero Cruz also emphasized the need to defend unity in all scenarios. A unity, he said, that necessarily has to be accompanied by demands and ensuring that what is established is fulfilled, in which the main leaders of each place have a leading role, to whom "it is up to us, more than ever, to be the example".
“Today the fight is tough and to end it we need to go at a firm pace, with our heads held high,” he said, in order to “move forward in solving the problems, in improving the conditions of our population, but with the conviction that We are going to fight and we are going to win it.”
The current context we face, he considered, "commits us more to advance in the implementation of the Government's projections, hence our insistence on the need to identify the distortions and negative trends that are currently manifest."
“If we do not start by identifying the things that we have wrong, the things that are working poorly and we look for a solution, we will stop, we will not move forward, and we will continue doing, as we have said, a little more of the same,” he said.
We live in different times, he recalled, that demand more demands and control, always defending planning. “Just because resources are scarce, and because we have so many problems, doesn't mean that we don't have to plan and that we don't demand that plans be fulfilled.”
Precisely, the first point of the meeting's wide and varied agenda was dedicated to reporting on the status of the implementation of the measures approved as part of the Government's projections to correct distortions and re-boost the economy during the year 2024.
Mildrey Granadillo de la Torre, First Vice Minister of Economy and Planning, explained several of the actions that were carried out between February 28 and March 22, to comply with the schedule.
She recalled that, as of the 1st. In March, the updated retail prices of fuels came into effect, both in coupons and in currencies, which will be reviewed every three months.
In addition to this, he commented that, although the forms of non-state management that provide passenger and cargo transportation services acquire fuel to carry out these activities at the established wholesale prices, the expected impact on prices has not been achieved, which have continued to increase.
Likewise, he said that the Agreement that establishes the rate for the population of electrical energy for the residential sector was updated, which increased, as of March, by 25 percent (%) for consumers who exceed the 500 kWh. This measure was conceived as a mechanism to contain demand.
During that period, the continuity, until June 30, of the extension of tariff exemptions on the importation of food, medicines, medical supplies and hygiene, by natural persons, was also approved.
The First Vice Minister of Economy and Planning valued that, in the period of analysis, attention has been focused on the projections that contribute to macroeconomic stabilization, the increase in foreign currency income, national production and the development of economic actors.
In this sense, the Prime Minister insisted on the need for all local organizations and governments to clearly assume how each of the actions and projections that have been designed are implemented in their area, and to have a more active participation in this. sense.
Economy and budget at the tip of a pencil
The agenda of the day, as is usual in these meetings, included the report on the behavior of the main indicators of the Economy at the end of the month of February.
According to the explanation of Joaquín Alonso Vázquez, Minister of Economy and Planning, this was a period marked, among other aspects, by a slight growth in the export of goods compared to the similar period of the previous year, as well as non-compliance with the agricultural production.
Regarding tourist activity, he detailed that, although the plan was only 89% fulfilled, which represents the arrival of 268,176 visitors, these figures are 11.9% higher than those of February 2023, and 8 .6% more than in January of this year.
Particularly regarding the sugar harvest, he considered that it has turned out to be very complex, characterized by low industrial and sugarcane yields, to which have been added the effects of fuel deficit and other organizational issues.
Even though in recent days the level of sugar production has been recovering, he said, what has been achieved puts strain on the fulfillment of the plan and, with it, the distribution of sugar to the basic-supply rationing.
In this regard, Julio García Pérez, president of Grupo Azucarero Azcuba, commented that, from an economic and financial point of view, several of the companies that are harvesting crops at this time have losses, which are associated with both inefficiencies and instability of the grinding.
Taking into account the delay that is accumulating, he stated, we have proposed the strategy of grinding until time allows in certain areas where it is possible to do so, with the purpose of recovering the indicators of the Economy Plan linked to sugar production.
The greatest impacts left by the results of the harvest to date, he asserted, are associated with ensuring the regulated family basket.
When speaking at this point of the meeting, the member of the Political Bureau and general secretary of the Cuban Workers' Union, Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, drew attention to two issues of special interest to the workers, and to which greater attention should be paid. attention from the administrations.
The first of them, he said, is associated with the “growth that non-payment to workers is already having in various sectors of the economy, which constitutes dissatisfaction within the groups.”
He also referred to the more than 300 companies that have losses, in which a significant number of workers are grouped who are limited, as a result of the lack of efficiency in business management, to be able to receive the benefits that come with applying the powers that we have given to the socialist state company and thus be able to improve the income of workers.
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Regarding these issues, the Prime Minister considered that both are, first of all, the responsibility of the main leaders in each place. There is a system that establishes, he recalled, that “wherever there is a financial problem, it must be discussed, proposals made and solutions sought before the date on which salaries are due.”
Regarding the behavior of the Economy at the end of February, Marrero Cruz considered that, although “it is true that multiple difficulties have been faced with fuel and the economic situation is complex, it is also true that things are being seen that are not being done.” and they could be executed in relation to economic and productive issues.”
On the other hand, he considered it essential to also achieve greater demand and monitoring of actions that allow greater income in foreign currency to the country, which is vital to acquire food and fuel. “And that has a lot to do with the need to produce more,” he reiterated.
He emphatically spoke of the essential review that must be made of the progress of fulfillment of the plans. It is urgent, he valued, to identify “existing non-compliance, which are really due to external impacts and which are due to things that have not been done.”
Likewise, he made reference to the problem of high prices, for whose containment the measures applied, as well as the inspections carried out by the existing inspectorates, have proven to be insufficient.
In this sense, he emphasized the priority with which work must be done to reorganize the inspection activity in all territories and “trigger a crackdown against the high and speculative prices that the population demands so much, and consequently apply all the powers that are established by the governments, to contain them.”
Another of the points analyzed by the meeting corresponded to the report on the execution of the State Budget and the behavior of the fiscal deficit at the end of January 2024.
The Minister of Finance and Prices, Vladimir Regueiro Ale, explained that, at the end of the first month of the year, a fiscal deficit of 12,632 million pesos was recorded, lower than planned in the order of 5,281 million pesos, which It is determined by a lack of execution, fundamentally, of current expenses and a slight overfulfillment of income. However, several provinces have failed to reduce the deficit to date.
On the subject, the Prime Minister considered that it is extremely important to achieve, at the end of March, to have clearly defined, among other elements, the problems associated with the execution of the Budget, what actions we have taken to solve them and how we intend to modify them. during the year the situation that manifests itself.
He also insisted on the discipline that must be followed for the execution of the Budget, since violations associated with the change of destination of the approved figures persist, as well as distortions related to the contracting that is carried out.
Each boss, he said, has to “be clear about the responsibility he or she assumes when a contract is being signed, where the agreed prices and, therefore, the payments are overstated.”
Other topics on the agenda
From the Palace of the Revolution and connected through videoconference with the 15 provinces and the special municipality of Isla de la Juventud, the meeting evaluated other issues on the national agenda related to the economic and social sphere of the country.
One of them corresponded to the report on the results of the control system for overdue accounts receivable and payable, which was presented by the Minister of Finance and Prices, Vladimir Regueiro Ale.
Despite what was done, after six months of updating the system, he assessed, the expected transformation and effectiveness are not appreciated, lacking the opportunity to analyze in search of solutions.
This means that overdue accounts receivable and payable do not decrease, while the subjective and objective causes and conditions that determine non-payments have not been resolved, said Regueiro Ale.
According to his words, “rigor has been lacking in the analysis and administrative and disciplinary measures that contribute to the ordering of collections and payments.”
Next, the first vice minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez Oliva, presented the reports corresponding to the end of 2023 on the economic effects caused to the country due to irregularities in foreign trade operations, and the implementation of the Comprehensive Export Strategy of goods and services.
Both topics, it was agreed during the meeting, are of vital importance in the path of achieving greater foreign exchange income for the country and, in general, advancing in compliance with the Economy Plan.
Also, as part of the agenda, the status of compliance with the implementation of Law 145 on territorial and urban planning in management was examined. This document, considered Raúl Acosta Gregorich, president of the National Institute of Planning and Urban Planning, constitutes important support for the updating of territorial and urban planning plans, as tools for the exercise of public administration.
Later, the Minister of Justice, Oscar Silvera Martínez, updated those present on the development and control of the registration process of state properties in the Property Registry at the end of 2023, in which difficulties associated with the effectiveness arose. and the rigor in the work system of some entities.
Next, the Comptroller General of the Republic, Gladys Bejerano Portela, announced the main elements of the evaluation of compliance with the Policy for the Improvement of the National Audit System, aimed at strengthening preventive work and contributing to confronting indiscipline, illegalities and the fight against administrative corruption.
In this sense, the Prime Minister stressed the importance that, in the midst of the complex economic situation that the country is experiencing, it is more necessary than ever to maintain "a control system that is sustained, that is effective."
Finally, the members of the Council of Ministers approved the sculptural intervention that will be carried out in the José Martí Anti-imperialist Tribune, an action that is the responsibility of this body, as it is a project of high heritage importance, by virtue of Decree Law 238 On development of monumental and environmental sculpture, 2015. (Website of the Presidency of Cuba) (Photos: Estudios Revolución)
