What is the potential and how to exploit it, we cannot allow Cuban industry to be idle with the high indexes of unsatisfied demand in the country, said Alejandro Gil Fernández, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of Economy and Planning, at the Check-up of Foreign Investment Projects at the Ministry of Industry (MINDUS), held recently in Havana.
Gil Fernández said that the main problem of the national economy lies in the supply deficit, regardless of the fact that other issues such as the world economic crisis or the impact of the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the U.S. government against Cuba are also involved.
However, he said, the sense of urgency that exists in the country to produce more, to have greater quantities of goods on the domestic market, must be understood.
The Deputy Prime Minister pointed out that it is necessary to take stock of the industry in order to define its potentialities, and in view of what we cannot do from the State, for which financing is not available, to link it productively with other forms of economic management on the island. He stressed the need to link up with micro, small and medium-sized companies, since this is an important investor that, through a cooperative production agreement, can help revitalize the national industry.
The participants tackled the main foreign investment projects of each of the business groups supported by MINDUS. In the case of light industry, the project that remains in the portfolio of opportunities to identify a possible partner for the International Economic Association Contract (CAEI) for the production of paints was analyzed.
Also analyzed was how to resolve the payments withheld by the CAEI for manufacturing protective footwear, which is paralyzed for such reasons.
In the case of the metal-mechanic industry, Reinaldo Luis González, president of the Grupo Empresarial de la Industria Sideromecánica (GESIME), informed that the commercialization of automotive vehicles in local currency, as well as some parts and pieces, will begin soon.
The Minister of Economy and Planning warned that the prices must be based on avoiding the resale of these articles and must consider the values of the products already marketed in freely convertible currency (MLC).
The President of GESIME also pointed out that this year it is planned to expand another assembly line of electric tricycles and quadricycles for sale.
With regard to the chemical industry, Eloy Álvarez Martínez, head of MINDUS, said that the joint venture for the production of sacks, jabas and paper cartridges is about to start operations. In the case of the bags, they will be used in the production of cement in the country.
Regarding the follow-up of the investments with international funds, Mr. Álvarez Martínez pointed out that, in the case of Antillana de Acero, the electric steel plant has already been started up, and some technical difficulties have been solved so that, once all the tests have been completed, it can be inaugurated.
He indicated that so far 85 % of the investment foreseen for the rehabilitation of this key industry in the national economy has been executed, which is equivalent to 94 million 162 369 dollars.
As regards the technological modernization project for the press, it was learned that the Gráfica Habana base business unit is already underway and should conclude the testing of its machinery on April 30, so that the production of the press, which is distributed in the western part of the country, can be carried out by this polygraphic plant, thus reducing transportation costs.
At present, such production and distribution are carried out from the Villa Clara polygraphic.
MACRO ECONOMIC PROGRAM
During the Interinstitutional Council of the Economy Macroprogram, also chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil Fernández, the state of the updating of the Project for the Improvement of the National Statistical System for the measurement of the transformations of the Cuban economic and social model was analyzed.
Mercedes Hilda González Guilarte, first deputy chief of the National Statistics and Information Office, pointed out that it is necessary to have a matrix of indicators with their metadata, based on the National Inventory of Indicators, which responds to the measurement of the country's transformations.
He added that they require the creation of a Statistical Law to regulate the measurement processes in the agencies, since at present there is little coordination in the areas of the different institutions and in many of them it does not even exist.
On this subject, Gil Fernandez stressed that the National Statistical System Improvement Project must interact with all the programs that are in the Development Plan and demand that all those that are there implement indicators that allow us to measure their growth.
He added that we cannot ensure that we are making progress when we do not measure what we do, when we do not know how we were in previous years, this is one of the rules that must be outlined and complied with.
