● Cuba to implement additional payments to health and education workers ● Cuba to raise fuel prices and electric tariffs in 2024

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced today a group of actions aimed at increasing foreign currency income, increasing national production, and reducing the budget deficit.

During the Second Ordinary Period of Sessions of the National Assembly of the People’s Power (ANPP, parliament) in its 10th Legislature, he expressed that the Caribbean nation is working in a scenario of war economy, aggravated by the impact of the blockade imposed by the United States and by international crises.

Marrero expressed the government’s dissatisfaction with not having made the necessary progress in reducing the impact of these external problems and regretted the persistence of subjective issues and other insufficiencies that affect the capacity to fulfill the projections of economic recovery, which must be faced in 2024.

In this regard, he stressed the importance of the Macroeconomic Stabilization Program, which aims to restore the balances that will guarantee a favorable environment for growth. This program is part of the National Development Plan until 2030 and requires the participation of various institutions to strengthen fiscal and financial discipline and productive transformation.

Concerning the objective of increasing foreign exchange income, he mentioned the need to increase exports of goods and services, recover tourism, boost nickel, tobacco, and rum production, resize the foreign exchange market, and recover remittance flows.

He referred to the implementation of a new mechanism for the allocation and management of liquidity for all economic stakeholders, which will include the use of new means of payment or foreign currency cards to which incentives will be applied for the purchase of goods and services, and which may be recharged from abroad or in cash.

In addition, measures will be implemented so that non-state enterprises can make their imports with payments from Cuba, boost electronic commerce with payments from abroad, continue renegotiating foreign debt, and increase foreign investment.

Regarding the goal of encouraging domestic production, he pointed out actions such as the use of cooperative production contracts with foreign investors and non-state actors, reducing by 50%, for all economic stakeholders, the payment of tariffs on imports of raw materials and intermediate goods; and raising tariff rates on imports of some ready-to-sell products manufactured in the country, such as cigars, cigarettes, rums, and beers.

Regarding how to reduce the budget deficit, he indicated the need to identify all the reserves for the capture of new sources of income and to advance in the reduction of State Budget expenses.

CUBA TO IMPLEMENT ADDITIONAL PAYMENTS TO HEALTH AND EDUCATION WORKERS

Cuba’s Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced today that as of 2024 the country will implement measures aimed at making additional payments to improve the income of workers in the health and education sectors.

He assured that, although it is not possible to raise the salaries of all employees in these sectors, the actions are related to raising their income, moral encouragement, and improvement of working and living conditions.

In the case of health, night shifts, additional payment for exposure and complexity, years of service, and maximum effort will be established.

On the other hand, education employees will receive additional payments for seniority and teaching overload.

The head of the island’s government emphasized the commitment to continue working to raise the indicators of the national economy and with them the population's quality of life.

Marrero said that in 2023, there was a decrease in employment of 4% of those employed in the economy, and to reverse this trend, the Caribbean nation will promote the generation of new jobs and strengthen and systematize job fairs.

In this sense, he highlighted that in the last fair of this modality, 7,027 people found job offers or training courses.

He also announced that the country will expand the salary organization of companies, without the obligation to apply a single salary scale, and will encourage the incorporation and permanence of workers in priority sectors of the budgeted labor activity.

CUBA TO RAISE FUEL PRICES AND ELECTRIC TARIFF IN 2024

Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero announced today a rise in fuel prices and an increase in electricity rates for high-income consumers in the residential sector, among other measures for 2024.

The head of government explained that the modifications in fuel costs would take as a reference the sale price in dollars in the region and would apply the official exchange market rate of the Caribbean country.

Likewise, he proposed that a network of service centers will be set up to collect fresh currency, under the premise of avoiding negative impacts on the population.

Marrero stated that the current restrictions to obtain fuel and the increase in its demand have had an impact on the difficulties in supplying the necessary quantities to vital sectors of the national economy and the people.

Among the measures to be taken next year, he also mentioned the application of new tariffs for passenger transportation services.

In addition, he announced that there would be a 25% increase in the electricity tariff for the residential sector for high consumers as a mechanism to contain the demand when the variation in the international prices of fuels directly impacts an increase in the generation costs.

He specified that the measure will only affect those who use more than 500 kilowatt-hours and that, at present, 94% of households consume less than 300 kilowatt-hours.

Also concerning electricity, he announced that the non-State-owned companies that perform their activities inside the home will be charged a tariff for the non-residential sector, replacing the current one.

He also announced that the tariff for the population with non-metered water supply would be increased from seven to 21.24 Cuban pesos, to stimulate the saving of this resource.

According to Marrero, the State Budget subsidizes the difference between the commercialization rate and the cost per cubic meter of water, which amounts to more than 900 million pesos this year.

There will also be a change in the prices of liquefied gas, with increases in the retail cost of 10 kg cylinders, from 180 to 225 pesos, and 45 kg cylinders, from 810 to 1,14 thousand pesos. (PL)