The encounter, led by the First Vice President of Cuba’s Councils of State and Ministers, Salvador Valdés Mesa, marked the end of a series of visits, which began May 17, to entities affiliated with the Ministry of Transport intended to stimulate exchanges at the grass roots level toward implementing the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines of the Party and Revolution, given the importance of air transportation to the country’s development.
The Party Political Bureau member highlighted the importance of specialized training for university graduates in order to guarantee a group of specialists linked to different aviation activities, and called to review possibilities within the entity itself for Cubana professionals to lead key training courses.
As in prior meetings Valdés Mesa highlighted First Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Army General Raúl Castro Ruz’s emphasis on saving and effective planning as a key management tool in order to avoid using “reserves,” which leads to inefficient management, and in so doing meet established targets (revenue). “We must be more realistic with our plans. We must not plan for what we cannot achieve,” he stated, while also expressing his confidence in the intelligence of the work force to resolve problems when they are reported and addressed by management.
Roberto Peña Samper, president of the Cuban Aviation Corporation, gave a critical update of the current situation affecting the entity, which has been unable to obtain vital resources to keep the majority of its aircrafts operational and expand aviation services, due to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by successive U.S. administrations.
Meanwhile, Hermes Hernández Dumas, director general of Cubana de Aviación, gave a report on the current state of the entity, in which he highlighted efforts by staff to continue providing a satisfactory response to demands despite the complexity of their work.
He also mentioned investments scheduled to be undertaken in Terminal 3 and efforts to respond to demands and proposals by national flight passengers, given growing demand for this service.
Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, first deputy minister of Transport, explained that negotiations, at the highest level, are still underway with a French company regarding an investment project which will improve efficiency at José Martí International Airport as well as others around the country.
Valdés Mesa was accompanied on his visit by Party and government officials from Havana and the municipality of Boyeros.
(Granma)