With this decision, a total of 4,955 economic actors have been approved since the process began in September 2021. Of these, 4,846 are private MSMEs, 51 state MSMEs, and 58 non-agricultural cooperatives.

By origin, 53% are reconversions of pre-existing businesses and 47% correspond to new ventures.

In total, it is estimated that these economic actors will generate 84,405 new jobs in the economy.

Of all those approved, 129 are part of local development projects and 12 are incubated in the Science and Technology Park of Havana.

Download here: List of new MSMEs
(With information from the Ministry of Economy and Planning)

Among the productions of these projects are approximately 1,000 tons of base for ecological paint, 900,000 liters of Pinturas Corona, 300,000 plugs, 20,000 switches, 280,000 sockets, 170,000 LED-lamp bases and 285,000 plumbing fixtures.

These projects have shown how productive chains, partnerships among socialist state enterprises, import substitution and links with academia can be attained, efforts proposed by President Miguel Díaz-Canel to boost the national economy.

One of these endeavors involved the paint manufacturer Pinturas Corona, which in 2020 supplied over 1,300,000 liters to the program for the local production and sale of construction materials through its partnership with the Local Industry Enterprise Group, to distribute and produce their product.

Partnerships between enterprises, whether suppliers of raw materials or developers of products, with the application of science and practical knowledge, have achieved the creation of new high-impact products for use in decisive lines of work within the Housing Program.

Manuel Vázquez Enríquez, head of Micon’s program for the local production of construction materials, explained to Granma that the productive chain and cooperative efforts with Pinturas Corona, Azcuba, the González Lines Enterprise and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICIMAR) made possible, among other accomplishments, the reactivation, with Cuban raw materials, of a paint factory in Holguín, associated with the Azcuba Central Enterprise Management Group. This facility was inoperative due to the unavailability of imported materials.

The partnership of Pinturas Corona with ICIMAR, affiliated with the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, sought to develop, with the use of science, bacteria that produce cellulose as paint thickener, a process that can be applied later by other enterprises.
Pinturas Corona has partnered with the Institute of Marine Sciences to develop bacteria that produce cellulose as paint thickener. Photo: Ricardo López Hevia

Currently, a paint factory is under construction in the Havana municipality of Marianao, by a brigade from the Demolition and Construction Enterprise, affiliated with the Gelma group, under the franchise of Pinturas Corona, which will contribute with technology and knowledge in the production of polymers and the manufacturing of different types of paints, including anticorrosive, enamel, waterproof, and high-quality hygienic, among others; also adhering to their systems of quality assurance and environment protection, in order to meet the high demand of the Ministry of Agriculture, with no expenses in hard currency required.

By means of the science applied by Pinturas Corona and Azcuba, in collaboration with the Sugar Cane Research Institute, they plan to produce an anticorrosive with domestic raw materials, for repair works in sugar mills, and to develop resins and binders to improve paint quality.

Vázquez Enríquez states that, in order to meet the growing demand for paints and ecological bases, as promoted by the leadership of the country to replace imports, it is essential that enterprises and suppliers of domestic raw materials facilitate the acquisition of these products by the manufacturers responsible for this task.

Quality and environmental protection

Antonio Corona Montero, self-employed owner of the brand and creator of Pinturas Corona, explained that this product is made from overstocked items acquired from different enterprises and state organizations, making a range of paints of different types that are an environmentally friendly, climate-resistant product, for both indoor and outdoor surfaces.

According to the head of the Micon program for the local production of construction materials, these projects receive special attention from the Center for Construction Research and Development, to certify their quality.

Likewise, a partnership was created with Union Suchel laboratories, for the certification of creoline, one of the products manufactured during the new coronavirus pandemic and supplied to the People’s Power government of the Habana del Este municipality for the disinfection of isolation centers.

PhD Luis Rafael Díaz Cisneros, coordinator of Technical Assistance at Pinturas Corona, explained that quality control of the product is assured, following established standards of density, viscosity, coverage and dry residue, which they also compare to the parameters of other internationally certified brands.

Furthermore, among the ongoing projects for environment protection is a treatment plant to recycle water, a process through which the Pinturas Corona factory recovers 5,000 liters of water in a recirculation system, and an external drainage system which ensures that water released into the Cojímar River is waste-free.

Díaz Cisneros added that they have conducted geological studies to detect organisms, which have indicated that the factory’s water treatment system is safe.

Exporting quality products

According to the country’s economic and social strategy to boost the national economy, non-state forms of management can export through specialized state enterprises.
One of the goals of Pinturas Corona is to export its products to international markets through the Ministry of the Construction, once they have filled social orders and met projections for retail sales.

In this way, Corona Montero states, they will be contributing to the national economy with hard currency and with other equipment they can acquire, necessary to continued improvement of their product’s quality and to substitute imports, thus responding to calls made by the country’s leadership, and contributing to Cuba’s plan for economic and social development.

(Taken from Granma)

This approach was emphasized during a review of the national housing program, by the President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who insisted forcefully on the need to transform current mechanisms to address delays, such as the delivery of cement to provinces, fundamentally to sales outlets affiliated with the Ministry of Domestic Commerce (Mincin), allowing the population greater access to construction materials, while at the same time contributing to the economy with increased retail sales.

“In difficult times, think differently,” he stressed to those responsible for the program, during the meeting, where causes of a number of efforts that are behind schedule were analyzed, according to the Presidential website, including the documentation process; renovations; the awarding of subsidies; repairs of building damaged during extreme weather events; the eradication of dirt floors; and special housing support for mothers with three or more children.

In terms of addressing population trends, the website indicated that Housing General Director, Vivian Rodríguez Salazar, reported that 479 families have benefitted from the effort, 271 with new homes constructed, 44 expansions, 140 rehabilitations, and the awarding of ten buildings as part of the state plan.

“It is time to complete the expansion of production capacity for construction materials at the local level, to allow for at least one dwelling per municipality (daily),” insisted Díaz-Canel, as key to meeting annual projections and advancing toward the goal of ensuring “comfortable and durable” housing for all.

(Granma)

The President has reiterated that there is no reason to justify a property being completed but waiting to be certified as habitable. Given this insistence, 7,584 such certifications have been granted the first eight months of the year, in line with the number of homes completed via government programs, family subsidies, and private initiative.

Díaz-Canel noted that, despite instability in the availability of cement during the first months of the year – fundamental to meeting projections – provinces have reserves that will allow for the completion of the year’s housing construction plans, to continue making progress in this critical area.

(Granma)

The biannual meeting involves 26 countries, including Spain, Italy and Cuba, as most represented countries and others such as Hungary, Brazil, Panama, Mexico, which will interact with the 124 companies attending the PABEXPO exhibition site until April 6.

The new visions related to construction include the use of energy and protection of the environment, as well as constructive solutions to face extreme weather events and climate change.

Special attention will be focused on the application of current computer techniques and management and project management, and issues related to the rehabilitation and maintenance of the built heritage.

Other contents of interest are linked to traditional materials of traditional construction, new development and recycling; experiences of application of new, advanced and local manufacturing technologies.

FECONS 2018 takes place under the slogan for better performance and sustainability in the construction sector and with Venezuela as a guest of honor.

Parallel to this event is the 12th International Scientific-Technical Construction Conference, which concluded yesterday at the Conference Center in Havana, in which more than 400 professionals from 14 nations participated.

(Prensa Latina)

In turn, efforts are ongoing to improve the quality of medical care, teaching, and research.

Speaking to Granma International, Dr. Antonio Raunel Hernández Rodríguez, director of the hospital, explained the results of the repair works completed thus far, the new services provided by the center, and the updating of teaching processes.

“What has been done is very important from a constructive point of view. The wards, operating rooms, emergency and service areas have been repaired,” Dr. Hernández states.

The renovation and refurbishment works also include a fully equipped rest area for doctors on call. Comfortable rooms, hot and cold water, air conditioning, and improved food services mean the hospital’s doctors enjoy better conditions during their long working hours.

Although progress has been made, one ward is still being repaired, and external consultation areas and the rehabilitation area are undergoing repair works.

THE SERVICE IN GREATEST DEMAND

The Fructuoso Rodríguez Hospital is located in Havana’s Plaza de la Revolución municipality, with the largest aging population in the country.

Many patients arrive at the health center with fractured hips, not only from this municipality but also from others. Today, this is the service in greatest demand.

“Last year the hospital assumed 42% of hip fracture surgeries in the capital and 19% of the country’s total. In the first quarter of this year 2017, 235 fractures have been operated, and 92% of these within 24 hours,” explains Antonio Hernández.

Orthogeriatrics requires, in most cases, special care, professional and technical know-how, in line with the patient’s clinical history.

“The elderly people we receive, in addition to the hip complaint, have medical conditions linked to their age relating to the heart, lungs, kidneys, among others, which complicate treatment and surgery,” Hernández explains.

OTHER SERVICES

The hospital provides ten other medical services addressing different anatomical regions of the human body, including upper and lower limbs. Endoprosthetic and spinal surgery is performed, both on adults and children.

Among related specialties are rehabilitation services, particularly effective in the treatment of orthopedic conditions. The hospital also has a clinical laboratory, specialized in microbiology, and complementary studies for inpatients and outpatients.

Other facilities include a blood bank and a psychology department, which helps support patients facing traumatic operations and injuries, Hernández Rodríguez explains.

Imaging equipment, including CT and digital X-ray machines, have also been installed. The latter has represented savings for the hospital, in terms of x-ray film. Dr. Hernández adds that, in the coming months, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging equipment will be incorporated.

The Havana Hospital also treats patients from different parts of the world, mainly Venezuelans, as part of the Cuba-Venezuela Health Program, although patients from Mexico, Argentina, and other Latin American countries have also benefited from its services.

TEACHING WORK

In addition to specializing in Orthopedics, the hospital stands out as a teaching center. At the moment, there are 37 residents, of whom seven are of other nationalities (Venezuelan, Colombian, Mexican and Chinese), whose studies in Cuba are either self-financed or funded through governmental agreements.

“We have a pyramid of teaching staff, with associate professors, teaching assistants, and instructors, as well as a consulting professor. They are doctors of different specialties related to orthopedics and traumatology,” the hospital director notes.

Orthopedics is studied for a period of four years. The learning process, states Antonio Hernández, is based on spiraled practice, to gradually increase residents’ surgical operations and the clinical complexities treated.

An end of year examination is conducted, and at the end of the degree course students take a pre-state and a state exam.

FOR QUALITY HEALTH CARE

Dr. Antonio Hernández Rodríguez affirms that there is no good care without good teaching, and vice versa. This link, he adds, is very important to ensure the quality of the health care provided.

“When teaching is linked to research, the student or resident of the specialty must also prove their knowledge from the point of view of investigation,” explains Dr. Hernández.

To graduate, students present a thesis related to the specialty, but based on the work of the institution. Thus, medical care is also evaluated and the work contributes to hospital development to provide better care to patients.

Remodeling and repair works at the hospital began about five years ago. The cost has surpassed 12 million pesos, demonstrating the commitment of the Cuban state and the Ministry of Public Health to preserve the comfort of the institution, and guarantee conditions for its workers, as well as quality medical care for everyone who requires it.

(Granma)

According to information shared, among the principal shortcomings in the industrial sector involved the export of steel billets, given breakdowns in steelworks. The solution to this problem, and those of the steel industry in general, Pardo said, lies in the modernization of the José Martí Steel Enterprise, where investments are already underway and will begin to bear fruit in 2018. Renovations will begin next year, as well, on the plate mill in Las Tunas, he reported.

Pardo Cruz emphasized three key industrial policies being implemented: the promotion of recycling; the efficient use of machinery and equipment; and development of the wrapping and packaging industry.

(Granma)

(Granma)