In football terms, the Cuban government got to the ‘first half’ of the year; terms have been extended and there will be no extra time. It seems “the match of the national economy” is not developing as expected.
“(…) projected levels in the plan have not been met yet, which leads to a deceleration higher than expected” stated the Cuban minister of economy, Adel Yzquierdo, in the latest meeting of the Council of Ministers (government), held in Havana.
The slow progress of the Cuban economy registered a speed of 0,6% during the first half of the year, a growth rate that would result in 1,4% by the end of the year, which is below the two percent initially anticipated. Once again, the real figure remains below the Plan, no matter how modest it may be, though this time it is close to recession (no growth).
The Minister of Economy also pointed out the causes of shortages and the disappearance of some products in the market, “due to delay in imports of finished products and raw materials for national production”, as well as domestic inefficiencies and not meeting the expected external incomes. The weather also had a share on this: “adverse weather conditions”.
CHANGES WILL GO ON
Raúl Castro’s office received a balance on the implementation of the Guidelines (economic reforms). Vice president Marino Murillo revealed that the number of self-employed people amounts to 467 000, which implies a slight increase of workers in this sector, in contrast with previous statistics.
Murillo reaffirmed the need of a change in the field of power generation in Cuba and talked about the advantages of using renewable resources instead of fossil fuel for this purpose. This transformation has been arranged for the long term.
In addition, he extolled the new management of gastronomic services (cafeterias and restaurants), lend by the state to self-employed people and cooperatives. “So far the units lent by the state to the self-employment sector have had favorable results; workers have increased their incomes; some facilities have been rehabilitated; service hours have been extended and prices have increased in accordance with the quality and variety of the offers”, he noted.
The Vice president also said that in the future “the facilities rendering gastronomic, personal and technical services, as a rule, will be handled by the self-employment sector”.
In macroeconomic terms, not all news was discouraging. The Minister of Finances and Prices, Lina Pedraza, informed the Council of Ministers that the Budget of the Cuban government is receiving 1,3% incomes above the expected figure, “which is determined by taxes over utilities and personal profits, contributions to Social security and the yielding of state investments”.
On the issue of the dual currency, Murillo commented that they are still working on a unification time schedule, implying the process is already in motion with no new details. He insisted in that “this process alone will not solve all economic issues”.
