Suriname barter deals with Cuba pending
Suriname barter deals with Cuba pendingBy Stabroek editorWednesday, January 4, 2012
PARAMARIBO – Suriname's exports to Cuba might get another dimension in the times ahead. Preparations are underway to strengthen trade ties with the island nation and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Lackin hopes the first transactions will take place in the first half of this year. Those will involve barter deals with local businesses delivering goods and products to Cuba in return for Cuban products as payment. This deal was brokered by of President Desi Bouterse on his visit to Cuba in May last year. Lackin explains that during the President's visit, Cuban representatives requested the delivery of crossties for their sugar industry's railroads. They are also interested in rice. In exchange, Cuba can supply cement and fertilizer, Lackin says, adding, "We know Cuba doesn't have much capital or private investments, and we're looking for some type of barter deals with Cuba." The transactions will be made by private businesses, however. Furthermore, the possibility of facilitating sea transport between Suriname and Cuba and better connections with the region is being considered.
http://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/news/breaking-news/01/04/suriname-barter-deals-with-cuba-pending/
A First Step / Dimas Castellanos
A First Step / Dimas CastellanosDimas Castellanos, Translator: Unstated
On Thursday November 10 Decree-Law 288 on the legalization of the sale of homes took effect. Complemented with six ministerial resolutions, the decree significantly changes the legislation in effect in this area since the 60′s of last century.
With the new provisions Cubans, formal owners of property, become actual owners. Now they can not only exchange, but also donate, assign or sell their home to other Cubans living in Cuba, to those with residence abroad or to foreigners permanently residing in the country. To make use of this right requires that the property be registered at the Land Registry, along with a statement on the legality of the funds involved, and payment of a tax of 4% per transaction. The price of the property is as stated by the parties, provided that it is not less than the discounted value of the same. And the transactions will be conducted in Cuban pesos through the National Bank.
Now homes owned by Cubans who leave the country permanently will continue to be confiscated but the State will transfer the property to the co-owners or family members up to the fourth degree of consanguinity, for free. That is spouses, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, nephews, uncles and cousins, or persons who, with the owner's consent, have resided for five or more years in the building.
An assessment of the scope of the new Decree-Law requires that we look at its background.
For years, the population growth, the aging of the housing stock, its deterioration because of lack of maintenance, increasing collapses of existing buildings and the slow pace of construction, formed a tricky situation. The Cuban model is more useful for distribution than productions, and involved itself in resolving the problems while circumventing the participation of citizens.
To that end a "battle for housing" began which ended in complete failure. From 1960 to 1970 they tried to produce 32,000 apartments a year, but the average did not exceed 11,000. From 1970 to 1980 there was a plan for 38,000, but they barely reached 17,000. In the decade of 1980s, the plan amounted to 100,000 homes a year, but the average did not exceed 40,000. Only in the 1990s, did it surpass 40,000, but then it declined. In September 2005, the Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers announced another plan of 100,000 new homes per year, which also failed.
When the housing shortage created a frenzy of occupations and illegal construction, the government turned the focus from plans for construction to controlling the widespread disorder. The Law No. 48-Housing Act, enacted in December 1984, authorized the transfer of ownership to onerous "usufruct" and legitimate occupants, and allowed the legalization of homes that had been built outside the law. This measure gave formal ownership to about 750 thousand families, but its scope was limited to legalizing existing arrangements and putting an end to the lack of control. Illegalities, however, continued their march.
Four years later, in December 1988, a new Housing Act was promulgated. In one of its paragraphs it made that the personal property of the house was understood as the right of enjoyment thereof by the owner and his family, but could not become a mechanism of enrichment or exploitation. That is, the owners were forbidden to sell their property. This law could not prevent black market sales and construction.
In July 2000 Decree-Law 211 was issued authorizing physical inspections of buildings, requiring institutional approval for housing swaps, and giving state officials the right to determine the legitimacy of the property, undermining the rights recognized in the General Law 1988. In the same direction, in February 2001, new Decree-Law was adopted that effectively eliminated the sale between private parties and awarded and Municipal Housing Authorities the right of confiscation. So the box was closed.
The recent provision recognizing the right of the owner and removing the prior authorization of the Housing Authorities, is a recognition of the absurdity of the above laws. Its limitation is that it is directed to the sphere of circulation: property can change hands, but one cannot build new homes. If one of the objectives of the recent legislation is "to contribute to solving the housing problem," then the right to property must be complemented by measures aimed at building and repair.
According to official figures in 2010 there was a national deficit of about 600,000 homes, more than half of the existing homes were in poor condition, and 85% were in need of repair. However, the reality is that the figures are higher.
Between 2001 and 2005 four hurricanes: Michelle (2001), Charley and Ivan (2004) and Dennis (2005) caused severe damage to housing. Then, in 2008, about half a million homes were damaged or completely demolished by the atmospheric phenomena of Fay, Hannah, Gustav and Ike. Given the failures of the construction plans, population growth and constant collapse of existing buildings, a conservative estimate shows a deficit of about one million homes in a population of more than 11 million. As the current population growth demands an annual 50,000 new houses, it would take several decades building a 100,000 homes a year to solve the critical housing problem.
The solution of the problem demands that citizens participate in parallel with the State, along with the creation of small and medium enterprises — private or cooperatives — for construction materials, repair, sale of materials, transport and alternative financing. It also requires multidisciplinary studies. In short, the joint participation of State and Society.
In this problem, Decree-Law 288 is only the first step. Important because it will generate a change in attitude among Cubans and because it is recognition, so far denied, of the right of ownership. Of course, this is only a first step.
Translated by Unstated
November 15 2011
Cuban authorities fighting shuttle trade
Cuban authorities fighting shuttle tradeDec 30, 2011 03:57 Moscow TimeCuba
New customs regulations aimed at countering the "shuttle" trade, have come into effect in Cuba. Starting with December 30th, customs officials will confiscate goods and products that are imported into the country by private individuals "for commercial purposes." Customs will be guided by two new resolutions of the General Customs of Cuba, which determine the amount of imported products or goods not considered "commercial imports." The new resolutions also determine duty rates for allowed import goods.
As reported earlier by "Granma" newspaper, tourists arriving on the island are entitled to duty-free import of items of personal belongings, as well as jewelry, cameras, computers and other items of personal use, subject to mandatory subsequent removal from the country. For other categories of passengers a different procedure of goods import and payment of customs tariffs is presupposed.
In addition, the "Granma" specifically stated that individuals arriving in Cuba have no right to transport goods and products intended for other persons in the form of parcels or packages, reports RIA Novosti. (RIAN)
CUBA PROMOTES AGRICULTURE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
CUBA PROMOTES AGRICULTURE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY
HAVANA, Dec 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Cuban agricultural workers are allowed to sell their products directly to tourism companies beginning today as part of the reforms promoted by President Raul Castro to boost agriculture and ensure national security.
The purpose of the initiative is to "simplify links between primary producers and consumers and save transport costs," according to the official daily Granma, a newspaper of the ruling Cuban Communist Party (CCP).
The permission for farmers to offer their products directly to tourist facilities is part of the economic adjustments undertaken by the president since 2008 and approved at the Sixth Congress of CCP in April.
The programme includes several measures related to agriculture that are aimed at increasing domestic production and reducing imports.
The country imports each year 80 percent of food it consumes.
Since taking office in 2006, Raul Castro has described the country's food production as a "strategic issue of national security."
He has made efforts to reform the economy of Cuba, which was hit by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former main market, in the 1990s.
One of the first steps of the president was to distribute the idle land to new farmers.
Official statistics showed that until last Sept, the government had delivered 1.3 million hectares of idle land, 79.2 percent of which has been put into use by about 146,000 new private producers.
Last week, the Cuban National Statistic Office reported an increase of 7.2 percent of the country's agricultural production during the first nine months of this year.
The figures also showed the output increase of private farmers by 15 percent in a year.
The president also tried to stimulate agricultural production by granting loans to farmers who needed them.
According to Vice President of the Cuban Central Bank Irma Martinez, the national bank system is ready to enlarge the possibilities of credits to individuals. — NNN-AGENCIES
Cuba eases clamp on domestic migration
Cuba eases clamp on domestic migrationAFPWednesday, Nov 23, 2011
HAVANA – Communist Cuba has eased but not ended wildly unpopular 14-year-old restrictions on people moving from the provinces to Havana, according to a decree published Tuesday.
The only single party regime in the Americas has argued that the rules were necessary, in the country of 11 million, to limit migration to the crowded capital of 2.1 million, plagued by severe shortages of water, housing, transport and jobs.
Former president Fidel Castro signed the domestic migration decree in 1997, setting a list of onerous requirements for people living outside the capital to meet if they wanted to relocate to Havana.
The restrictions, which amounted effectively to a ban, has been defied by thousands seeking a better life in Cuba's largest city.
Tuesday's decree, signed by his younger brother President Raul Castro, says the reasons behind the original decree had not changed.
But it amended the existing rules to include exceptions for spouses, children, parents, grandparents and grandchildren of those who own property in Havana, as well as a homeowner's spouse's minor children, and the handicapped.
Under the 1997 decree, authorities in Havana returned thousands of people back to their home provinces every year.
Since 2006 Raul Castro's government has ended several unpopular restrictions. Among other things Cubans are now allowed to rent rooms in hotels geared to international tourism, sign cell phone contracts, and buy appliances (a government energy saving measure).
In September, the government authorised Cubans to buy and sell cars, and this month homes.
Cubans are extremely keen for the government to eliminate its onerous restrictions on travel abroad.
If Havana makes that move, it could be a stunning wake-up call to the United States, which as part of held-over Cold War policy, still grants any Cuban who reaches US soil legal US residency on request. The United States does not have this policy for nationals of any other country.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20111123-312168.html
Cuba Co-ops Set to Expand, Need Law
Cuba Co-ops Set to Expand, Need LawNovember 14, 2011Patricia Grogg
HAVANA TIMES, Nov 14 (IPS) — The creation of co-operatives forms part of the current "updating" of the Cuban economy, even though no official information has been provided about the expansion of this form of business management, which has already been tested, with mixed results, in agriculture.
This is not a new issue in academic circles. "Years ago, I conducted a study and proposed, as my personal opinion, to create co-operatives for the collection, transport and distribution of farm products," economist Blanca Rosa Pampín, an expert on agricultural issues, said in a recent interview with IPS.
In her view, this type of self-management could solve the problem of the buying, selling and distribution of agricultural foodstuffs, which until now has been based on a state system that slows down the whole process, discourages producers, causes losses due to transport delays, and drives up the cost of products.
"The guidelines do not talk about this," Pampín added, referring to the document approved in April during the Sixth Congress of the governing Communist Party, which sets the agenda for the Raúl Castro government's modernisation of the country's economic and social policies.
The document, however, does announce that "first-degree" co-operatives – where members are individuals or legal entities – will be created as a socialist form of collective ownership in different sectors, with the goal of producing and providing useful services for society, with members using their income to pay for all costs.
It also provides for "second-degree" co-operatives, whose members are "first-degree" co-ops, with the goal of organising complementary activities that are related to or add value to the products and services of member co-ops (involved in production, services or distribution), and making joint sales and purchases for greater efficiency.
Legal regulations reportedly now being drawn up are expected to guarantee that co-operatives, as a form of social property, cannot be sold, nor can their ownership be transferred to other co-operatives, non-state businesses or individuals. At the same time, the regulations will serve as the basis for determining the income of workers and the distribution of profits.
For some analysts, the delay in the materialisation of these initiatives may be due to the fact that they are changes that the government does not wish to rush, to avoid subsequent errors or delays. "We are not going to rush things to meet a timetable," Castro said, referring to the pace of reforms during a government meeting in September.
For now, the authorities seem to be focusing on the expansion of self-employment or private enterprise as an alternative for the tens of thousands of people who have lost their jobs in a slashing of the bloated public payroll. This includes the distribution of idle state land to new farmers, under a 2008 law.
But experts say more measures are needed to make the economy grow.
In an article published by the Catholic magazine Palabra Nueva, Camila Piñeiro, a researcher with the Centre for the Study of the Cuban Economy, said additional advantages would be provided by legal regulations for the expansion of co-operatives not limited to agriculture.
"It would allow like-minded people to come together to carry out activities like those engaged in by self-employed workers, but with higher levels of productivity and without having to recur to a concentration of wealth or exploitative work relations," Piñeiro said.
In her opinion, in this country, progress will be made in the construction of a new economic and social order to the extent that "the number of genuine co-operatives increases and state and private enterprises democratise their management," along with other conditions.
"The way that co-operatives are organised internally not only makes them compatible with democratic socialism, but also essential, although of course they are not sufficient, nor are they the best way to organise all economic activities," she said.
In Cuba, Credit and Services Co-operatives (CCS) were formed in the 1960s by land-owning private farmers who voluntarily joined to receive loans, technology and marketing benefits.
A decade later, the Agricultural Production Co-operatives (CPA) emerged, made up of farmers who went from being private to collective owners by selling their land and means of production to the new business entity.
According to economist and agricultural expert Armando Nova, the positive performance of the CPAs over more than two decades served as a model for the creation of the Basic Units of Co-operative Production (UBPC) in 1993.
Over the course of time, however, the UBPCs became "a transfigured form of state enterprise, with unsatisfactory results," Nova commented in an article on the issue. In any case, the farmland cultivated by co-operatives grew from 15 percent in 1989 to 70 percent in 1999.
According to the information provided by the researcher, the CCSs and private farmers show better results on average than the CPAs, and by 2009 they accounted for 57 percent of total food production with 24.4 percent of arable land.
In Piñeiro's opinion, if co-operatives have been less successful than private farmers who hire labour, it is due in great measure to the fact that they have not had the autonomy needed to make purchases and decide on their production and sales, among other hurdles.
The co-operatives became "distorted by the statist view of socialism that has predominated," and the fact that many do not see how the group interests of co-ops can be brought into line with broader social interests without the direct intervention of the State, she said.
Craziness in the Neighborhood / Rebeca Monzo
Craziness in the Neighborhood / Rebeca MonzoRebeca Monzo, Translator: BW
Yesterday was payday for retired people and active workers who collect their pay by debit card. The wandering to and fro by people of various ages, in search of a Cadeca (a place where money can be exchanged), a bank that doesn't have long queues (lines) or for an ATM that works, arouses disgust and some heated remarks between the neighbors of our neighborhood. It should be noted that the payments to retired people don't happen at the end of the month as was custom some time ago. One fine day in one blow, they changed them to the first few days of the following month, bringing with it the agony of being without a penny extended, therefore, a couple of days more.
But this was not the case for my neighbor, who still works, and collects her pay by debit card. She was very needy the same as the vast majority of people collecting, even more so because she had to make a payment that had a due date. She went in search of an ATM and that's where here odyssey began. The one at the Ministry of Transport was broken, the one at the Cadeca didn't have any cash, the same thing happened at the Bank of the Ministry of Agriculture, finally, she went through all of the ATMs and banks in the neighborhood, and couldn't get cash at any of them, because the only same was working and had available funds, but had a long line that wasn't moving. She joined that very line and a little while later she overheard a conversation between two people.
One, an older person said to a young person: I don't know what's going on, I just went by the agricultural market of the YLW (Youth Labor Army) and they didn't have anything, nor did the one on Tulipán, nevertheless, the self-employed individuals in their trucks have everything. How is it that the State is not able to supply their farmers markets and but the self-employed can!
The young person, without getting upset, answered: Lady, you yourself just answered your own question, because the State, as you rightly said, is not capable, at least that is what it has demonstrated so far.
The woman, without answering back, moved in the line to move away a little from the young person. Meanwhile, the rest continued complaining to each other about the slow way that they advanced. Finally, my neighbor, abandoned the line protesting without being able to achieve her objective, walking to her house frustrated and indignant, to use a word that is so in style.
Note: the photo had to be taken from far away, because the guard at the Cadeca at Panorama and Tulipán wouldn't let me get close with camera in hand, he told me that I couldn't take photos there, and I told him that he should show me documentation of the prohibition, and he answered that it didn't exist, but that it is forbidden.
Translated by: BW
November 7 2011
Cubans’ chance to trade up is unlikely to jump-start economy
Cubans' chance to trade up is unlikely to jump-start economyVictoria BurnettNovember 7, 2011
Take Control of Your Super Special Offer Ends Soon. Apply Now!Motorists pass a broken-down car on a street in Havana
Kicking the ties … Cuba is a museum-on-wheels of old-model American and Soviet cars, but now the people can buy and sell used vehicles freely. Photo: Jose Goitia/The New York Times
HAVANA: Until a few weeks ago, Erik Gonzalez's decrepit car did little more than devour his tiny income. He spent hundreds of dollars fixing the car, a 30-year-old Moskvich that his grandfather passed down to him in 2000. Even when it worked, Mr Gonzalez could rarely afford to buy petrol.
Then, overnight, the rattletrap became his nest egg.
Mr Gonzalez put the Soviet-brand car up for sale last month when the government published rules allowing Cubans to buy and sell used vehicles freely for the first time in half a century.Advertisement: Story continues below
The carburettor shot, the battery on its last legs and the headlights inoperable, but he believes his blue Moskvich will fetch at least $US5500, a small killing for a waiter whose salary – before tips and extras – is just $US15 a month.
Like the new law permitting home sales, which comes into effect this week, the changes headline efforts by the President, Raul Castro, to remodel Cuba's hobbled economy and spur the private sector.
After decades in which ownership of such big-ticket items was frozen, the efforts promise to flush money into the market at a time when officials are trying to stimulate private enterprise and move hundreds of thousands of workers off the public payroll.
Like several of Mr Castro's changes, the new law created a pocket of economic liberty in a market that remains tightly controlled. Cubans can purchase and own more than one used vehicle, and they will no longer lose their car if they emigrate.
Emilio Morales, president of Miami's Havana Consulting Group, said the new rules – like earlier decisions to let Cubans own mobile phones and computers and work in the private sector – simply legalised what many of them were already doing illicitly and would neither increase Cuba's antiquated stock of vehicles nor alleviate the country's crushing transport problem. The move was intended to placate people, not stimulate the economy, Mr Morales said.
''This is one of their political pressure valves,'' he said.
He would spend the proceeds on building a new kitchen and fixing his house in a gritty Havana suburb, and then put some of the money aside for a restaurant he hoped to open with a group of friends.
''If the restaurant is successful, maybe in two or three years I could buy myself a new car,'' he said. ''Just not a Moskvich.''
The New York Times
Cuba Signs Contracts Worth over 300 Million U.S. Dollars at Trade Fair
Cuba Signs Contracts Worth over 300 Million U.S. Dollars at Trade Fair2011-11-05 22:55:09 Xinhua
Cuba signed contracts worth over 300 million U.S. dollars at the International Fair of Havana that ended Saturday, officials said.
Cuba also initiating negotiations and contacts for other business transactions, said Abraham Maciquez, president of the trade fair organizing committee.
The Cuban Ministry of Transport signed four documents with companies in Canada and the Netherlands aimed at providing resources for the recovery of railroads, motor transportation and ports on the island.
The fair was attended by about 1,500 foreign companies and official delegations from some 20 countries.
The fair also involved more than 350 Cuban companies in areas such as health, food industry, electronics, construction, and services, a sector representing currently 70 percent of the national income.
The "fair is not a bilateral event between Cuba and foreign companies involved, but an international meeting of trade relations," Maciquez said. "It is a bridge, aimed at linking our continent with the rest of the world to promote trade and relations of all kinds in a climate of peace, tranquility and security."
Cuba arrests the conductor and three members of his crew in train collision
Cuba arrests the conductor and three members of his crew in train collisionPublished November 03, 2011EFE
Havana – A conductor and three members of his crew were arrested after a collision between two trains that left 33 people injured, three of them seriously, Cuban authorities said.
A freight train headed west toward Pinar del Rio and an eastbound passenger train with 110 travelers aboard ran into each other Wednesday morning near the campus of Havana's Jose Antonio Echeverria University, the Transport Ministry said in a statement.
Investigators' preliminary finding blamed the accident on the freight train's failure to yield to the other train.
The freight train's conductor and three of his crew "are in custody and at the disposal of the judicial organs," the ministry said.
A commission of safety experts will conduct a more extensive probe to "clarify the causes and conditions" behind the collision and to consider whether civil and criminal charges should be filed, the Transport Ministry said.
Nineteen people died and 149 others were hurt last year in 106 separate accidents on Cuban railways, according to official reports acknowledging an increase in such incidents in recent years.
Most of last year's accidents involved trains' running over cattle or people or collisions with vehicles at level crossings.
Ni un solo dictador más
Ni un solo dictador másMiércoles, 02 de Noviembre de 2011 04:23Juan Gonzalez Febles
Lawton, La Habana, (PD) Un mensaje recibido a través de las novísimas redes sociales de telefonía móvil y generado desde la activa blogósfera, exhorta a rechazar la eventual promoción en enero -nepotismo mediante- del coronel Alejandro Castro Espín al Comité Central del gobernante y único Partido Comunista. El llamamiento convoca a impedir la continuidad de la sucesión dinástica y concluye con un dramático: ¡Ni un Castro más!
El club mundial de dictadores enemigos de la democracia, parece inspirado en el más rancio absolutismo monárquico. Los casos de Corea del Norte, Siria y la abortada sucesión de Gadaffi en Libia, dan fe de una incontestable voluntad de continuismo hereditario. Pero el caso cubano es diferente. Cinco décadas de dictadura personal totalitaria en que se logró el sublime horror de la tecnocracia totalitaria, combinado con lo peor del caudillismo machocrático latinoamericano, no han borrado del todo la vocación democrática del occidente cristiano en el imaginario popular cubano, que aun sueña en el inglés adulterado de Florida o el español deficiente de Telemundo.
El mensaje consiguió filtrarse de móvil en móvil y algunos como el anciano Gregorio H, que dice y afirma que ya es tarde para cambiar y que se muere fidelista, comentó mientras bebía el café de un cuentapropista en Lawton: -La gusanera se adueña de los telefonitos esos –en referencia a la telefonía móvil- para hacer contrarrevolución con ellos. ¡Están llenos de odio contra Fidel, contra Raúl y hasta contra sus hijos!
Gregorio supo del mensaje a través de una sobrina que estudia en la universidad y se lo dio a conocer sólo para molestarlo.
Sobre la posibilidad del encumbramiento de Castro Espín, recogí algunas opiniones en el almendrón que me transportó hasta Centro Habana, desde Santos Suárez vía Calzada del 10 de Octubre.-¡Nunca saldremos de esta gente!- dice el chofer del almendrón. Se quieren seguir repartiendo todo entre ellos y sus familiares, sus queridas y el resto de la pandilla. ¡Qué salación le cayó a este país!
Un 'luchador' que viajaba en el almendrón dijo: -El tipo está en el DTI partiendo cojones en nombre de su papi y su tío. Está luchando lo suyo y hace méritos. Ninguno de nosotros por más mierda que hablemos conseguirá impedir que lo metan en la 'mascá'. Esto es de ellos y no hay más na. Lo único que queda pal que no le guste, es pirarse. ¿Vieron como se echaron a la jefa de las Damas de Blanco? Esta gente, no quiere soltar…
Lo cierto es que las redes informales hacen lo suyo. Esto a despecho de los esfuerzos que hace el gobierno para que los mensajes no lleguen a su destino. Quien suscribe no recibió el mensaje en su móvil, pero tuvo oportunidad de leerlo y hasta disfrutarlo en el móvil de un vecino y amigo.
En estos momentos espero la confirmación de la última asonada que se dice protagonizó en las calles de todos los cubanos, Sara Marta Fonseca con un grupo de seguidores. La oposición se mueve y las redes sociales a pesar de todos los pesares, acompañan desde la sociedad civil el difícil camino hacia la libertad y la democracia.
Como un murmullo crece, hasta convertirse en grito una demanda: ¡Ni un Castro más!
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