"Planning, Organizing and Working Hard are Essential to Achieve Efficiency" said the Cuban President Raul Castro
- Submitted by: admin
- Caribbean
- culture an traditions
- Education
- Havana
- national
- personalities
- Society
- Business and Economy
- Politics and Government
- 07 / 12 / 2008
The Cuban president began by referring to the resolution passed by the National Assembly earlier in the day, demanding freedom for the Cuban Five.
He also noted that the proposal submitted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to increase the age of retirement makes sense, given the ever-increasing life expectancy in Cuba and pointed out that in just a little more than 50 years, since 1950, the average life expectancy here in Cuba has risen by nearly 20 years.
The Cuban leader noted that the percentage of elderly in Cuba is also an at all time high, while at the same time Cuba's birth rate is steadily declining.
President Raul Castro touched on the question of salaries, emphasizing that one cannot simply take one salary in Cuban pesos and divide by the rate of a convertible Cuban peso to get the monthly salary. One most also figure out all the benefits in Cuban society: free health care, free education, subsidized prices of basic commodities and low rents among many other services that are completely free or heavily subsidized. The Cuban president said that socialism is social justice and equality, but not necessarily equality in salaries.
The Cuban president was seating next to an empty seat, where Fidel Castro would be seating if he were able to attend these sessions. Before becoming ill nearly two years ago, in 2006, Fidel attended each and every one of the legislative sessions of the National Assembly of People's Power. And out of respect for the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, an empty chair was permanent on the stage at Havana's International Convention Center.
President Raul Castro ended his one-and-a-half-hour talk by saying that some of the comments in his speech were only his opinions, while others were directives and proposals that the National Assembly of People's Power must take up as the elected representatives of the Cuban people.
(ACN)
Comments