Faced with objective problems, it is necessary to think about what to do differently, said the Prime Minister of the Republic, Manuel Marrero Cruz, who presided over the extraordinary Provincial Council of Government on Thursday, a forum in which he analyzed the implementation of the actions that the governmental universe is proposing to correct distortions and relaunch the Cuban economy in 2024.
Las Tunas, Cuba.- In the meeting, he was accompanied by Walter Simón Noris, first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), and the acting governor, Eduardo Walter Cueli; as well as the rest of the members of the local Government Council, together with leaders of the political and mass organizations, and directors of companies.
The meeting also assessed how the Eastern Balcony has achieved other goals within the government program, such as fiscal control, price control, and bankarization. The progress of the delegate's accountability process to his constituents and the strategies to face the end of the year were other topics on the agenda.
After listening to the interventions of representatives of the municipalities of Las Tunas, Majibacoa, Jesús Menéndez, and Colombia and the coordinators of Programs and Objectives, the Prime Minister considered the diagnosis made by the locality on its main difficulties to be good.
However, he clarified, that it is necessary to move on to action, changing work styles so that before the end of 2024 the change will be noticeable. This is valid for the economic indicators that can be better, first of all, in physical productions, he said. Always with the participation of the people, calling on young people, he suggested.
The promotion of exports from the municipalities, with financing schemes that directly benefit those who do it from these demarcations, are some of the measures taken by the nation to oxygenate the finances in these instances.
Referring to food production at the territorial level, control of land use and livestock, banking, signs of child labor, and people with wandering behavior, he remarked that these are issues that require the utmost attention. He said: ‘The safest thing we will have is what we can do. It is time to reorganize and strengthen the control mechanisms.
Strengthening the cadres in the municipalities must be a priority, he said. How crime, the housing situation, and other social realities marked by inequality are tackled here also requires a different approach.
Marrero Cruz cited the agreements reached by the Extraordinary Plenary Session of the Provincial Party Committee, presided over by the party's top leadership, which gave clear guidelines to the government of Las Tunas.
This extraordinary Council took place after the President of the Republic, using the powers conferred on him by the Constitution and the law, approved the dismissal of the hitherto governor of the territory, and also suspended the vice-governor. A context that Marrero Cruz did not overlook in his summary.
ECONOMY AND SOCIETY: SOME RESULTS, MORE DIFFICULTIES
Earlier, in his report, Eduardo Walter Cueli pointed out some positive figures, such as the reduction in budget execution and the number of loss-making companies, as well as administrative price control actions. He also referred to the progress in bankarization compared to previous stages. In this regard, he cited some measures taken with non-state entities violating the law.
Like the rest of the country, the performance of the economy of Las Tunas has been affected, above all, by the low availability of fuel and electricity, caused mainly by the intensification of the US economic blockade.
However, the acting governor acknowledged deficiencies in the government's management and control of each of these processes, particularly at the municipal level.
He said that the most recent sowing season in agriculture had been completed and there had been discreet improvements in some harvests, but not in the production of beef and cow's milk. The province's efforts to reverse these issues have been insufficient, he admitted.
In similar terms, he said, Las Tunas has only fulfilled 54 percent of its commitments regarding the construction of housing and the eradication of dirt floors.
The Working Group accompanying the head of government responded that the territory has certainly reduced its budget deficit by 270 million pesos and is over-achieving its ceded revenue plans, but not all municipalities are doing so in the same way. Timely control of expenditures and increased revenues by expanding fiscal controls, they said, could make a difference, emphatically in municipalities such as Majibacoa and Colombia. Tax evasion remains the order of the day among many non-state economic actors, they pointed out.
Almost 50 vulnerable neighborhoods were served, compared to the aspirations to serve more than 100, the poor execution of subsidies for housing construction and the analyses following price control exercises, they said, reflect unfinished business for the government here.
Regarding banking penetration, the Central Bank described the steps taken so far as regards the use of digital payment gateways as slight and far from what is expected. Las Tunas, they said, has to reverse the situation of the 200 million pesos that remain outside the banking system every month, and the fact that 67 percent of its economic actors do not register activity in their fiscal accounts. In addition, they said, the irregularities detected in the extra cash service must be addressed. Still, they insisted, state-owned enterprises do not meet the target of having at least 50 percent of their operations go through digital channels.
In the area of retail trade, the group said, the Balcón del Oriente Cubano (Cuban Eastern Balcony) is critically dependent on offering products included in the standard family basket or imported products. It is necessary, they said, to expand local inter-business linkages that broaden the offer and, therefore, the circulation of retail trade.
In 2024, state-owned enterprises in Las Tunas only contracted 54 percent of the estimated agricultural potential of the territory, a figure that is considered insufficient, as is the integration of non-state forms into the economy's plans. Nor is there any progress in the municipality of Las Tunas, as a pilot project, in approving applications for the creation of new state or private companies or non-agricultural cooperatives.
About social work, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, Minister of Labor and Social Security, expressed the opinion that this cannot be a responsibility that the main government decision-makers here leave to lower-ranking officials. The completion of the staff of social workers is another objective that cannot be postponed because 72 districts do not have any social workers to provide care. True social work, she said, is not welfare work, but creating opportunities.
The head of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security mentioned other worrying data for these areas: the 48 million pesos earmarked by the National Assembly for the purchase of resources, of which barely 50 percent has been executed, as well as the fact that this province continues to be the third province in the country in the rate of adolescent pregnancy.
He said that a strategic alliance between the different agencies is required and that the causes of this phenomenon must be addressed. The minister warned that 28 percent of the under-age students from Las Tunas are currently not attending school, have behavioral problems, or are involved in work, in violation of Cuban law.
Some 40,000 people on Las Tunas soil work informally and another 21,000 are unemployed; both situations are alarming, he said.
The president of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, reported that the water supply system will have to continue operating without planned works in the municipality of Jesús Menéndez. Although he described with optimism what has been done to change the energy matrix of the pumping stations, something that benefits more than 58,000 inhabitants.
He said there was good news about the repair of the pumping plant and the drinking water treatment plant in El Rincón. He considered it an example of what can be done when there is coordinated work. Before the end of the year, he assured, the assembly of the ten-pumping equipment placed there should be finished; while those promised for “Amancio,” he announced, will be here before 2025.
So far this year, crime in the territory has increased by eight percent compared to 2023, especially in livestock offenses. It was learned that some 10,000 head of cattle were affected by these events, twice the number recorded in the previous calendar year. There are containment actions, but not the necessary ones, the National Assembly Working Group pointed out.
Government management, they concluded, remains impacted by the completion of decision-making positions in several districts, as well as by the quality and rigor of the analyses. Many tasks are carried out outside of direct contact with the citizenry, the evaluation of the Cuban legislature criticized.
ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE DELEGATE: BEYOND ASSISTANCE
In Las Tunas, the schedule of assemblies within the current process of delegates' accountability to their constituents is more than 90 percent complete, with an attendance rate of more than 70 percent, the acting governor reported.
However, judging from what was heard at the Council, the quality of the meetings beyond these indicators remains a question mark. “What analysis has been made of what has taken place; what are the most reiterated points,” the prime minister asked.
There, where the Accountability was not going well, there was a lack of discipline, coordinated work, and proper leadership, criticized Walter Simón Noris, the first secretary of the party in the province.
The political leader reiterated his recurrent message in other forums: there are many reservations in the current system of work of the cadres, which has repercussions on the solution of the problems of the citizens. The quality of the functioning of government structures does not match the nobility, patriotism, and resilience of the people from Las Tunas, he added.
Finally, Eduardo Walter Cueli thanked each of the remarks. 2025 will be a year as complex as this one, he anticipated, but he expressed his team's determination to continue making efforts to successfully overcome the difficulties. “We have the potential to close the year in better conditions,” he concluded.
