CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

Raul Castro Presided Over Extended Meeting of Cuban Council of Ministers.

CUBA, March 1st, 2011.- Cuban President Raul Castro last Friday presided over an extended meeting of the Council of Ministers where he said that all the opinions expressed during discussions of the Draft Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution will be analyzed, national media outlets reported on Tuesday.

During the meeting, the vice president of the Council of Ministers, Marino Murillo Jorge, presented a preliminary report on these discussions.

In this sense, according to Granma newspaper, until February 7th, 127,113 meetings had been held with the participation of more than seven million eople who made 619,387 recommendations, modifications, suppressions or concerns about the content of the Draft Guidelines.

Soon, the people will receive detailed information on the results of the process, which —in Raul Castro’s opinion— is an excellent working instrument for the Communist Party and Government at the municipal, provincial and national levels.

The Cuban leader noted that upgrading our social and economic model is not a task that can be done in a day and not even in a year. Due to its complexity, he said, it will take at least five years.

Raul Castro made emphasis on the urgent need to train cadres and specialists who will implement all the changes in the near future.

“In this strategic activity there will be no room for any hurry or improvisation,” he added and noted that the major threat against the Revolution precisely lies on the errors that may occur. He stressed the need to work without any hurry but with no rest and increase order and discipline in every aspect without disregarding the achievement of a thorough preparation to implement the changes.

With regard to the reduction of bulky payrolls in the state sector, the Cuban president said that it is a measure aimed at recovering efficiency and discipline in workers’ collectives under the principles of workers’ suitability for the posts and their best rights.

He warned that such a big task, which affects so many citizens one way or the other, can not be managed under limited terms, while its advancement will depend on the capacity to create organizational and legal conditions to guarantee its successful implementation and the control of its development. This will introduce appropriate corrections timely and rectify deficiencies affecting state enterprises.
Raul reiterated the Cuban State’s willingness to not abandon any citizen on its own.

Other topics discussed during the meeting included the excellent results of ongoing restoration works in Old Havana, where social, cultural, artistic and historic values are promoted, and which has become one of the country’s main tourist attractions and an important source of income. In this respect, Raul gave credit to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and to Havana Historian Eusebio Leal.

In addition to the members of the Council of Ministers and its Executive Committee, members of the Council of State, the Communist Party’s Politburo and Secretariat, and regional representatives of the Cuban Workers’ Confederation (CTC), the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) and the Young Communist League, as well as the President and VP of the National Assembly, the President of the People’s Supreme Court and the Attorney General, participated in the meeting. (Cubaminrex-Cuban News Agency)

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