THE TELEGRAPH: Raul Castro has said that his government will scale back controls on small businesses, lay off unnecessary workers and allow more self-employment - significant steps in a country where the state dominates nearly every facet of the economy.
Cuba's president, however, quashed notions of a sweeping overhaul to the country's communist economic system in response to the financial crisis it is facing.
"With experience accumulated in more than 55 years of revolutionary struggle, it doesn't seem like we're doing too badly, nor that desperation or frustration have been our companions along the way," the president said.
Speaking in parliament, Castro said that authorities would "update the Cuban economic model," suggesting reforms could be on the horizon. Cuban officials plan to reduce state control of small businesses, authorize more Cubans to become self-employed and build a new tax structure that will compel state employees to contribute more. >>> | Monday, August 02, 2010
THE GUARDIAN: Leader says prohibitions on licences and commercialisation will be rolled back in effort to reduce 'bloated' state sector
More Cubans will be allowed to work for themselves and hire their own workers, the country's president has said, while ruling out wholesale reform of the communist economy.
Raúl Castro, who was speaking to parliament at the opening of its biannual session, said the steps were aimed at creating jobs as the government seeks to cut jobs from the public sector over the next five years.
About 95% of all Cubans work for the government and Castro suggested that as many as one in five state employees were redundant in what he called a "bloated" state sector.
Castro said those left out of work would be retrained or reassigned to other jobs but warned that few sectors would be immune to cuts. While sketchy, his comments signalled a liberalisation of the economy at a time of financial crisis. Raúl Castro took power from Fidel, first temporarily, then permanently, in July 2006. He has a reputation for being more pragmatic than his brother. >>> Mark Tran | Monday, August 02, 2010
NZZ ONLINE: Raul Castro will den Sozialismus zukunftsfähig machen: Kuba erlaubt Privatwirtschaft im Kleinen– Die kommunistische Führung in Kuba hat beschlossen, Kleinbetriebe mit Angestellten zuzulassen und den Staatsapparat verkleinern. Präsident Raul Castro will so das soziale System des Landes für die Zukunft erhalten. >>> sda/dpa | Montag, 02. August 2010
