Cuba to allow construction of private homes
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President Raoul Castro
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HAVANA, Cuba – FIFTY years of communism in Cuba has seen yet another mechanism implemented to reform the economic structure of the island by allowing nationals to build their own homes using private funds.
According to Caribbean Net News, President Raul Castro made the announcement on January 4 during a local television programme and explained that Cubans will be given “clear guidelines about the dimensions of the proposed new dwellings”.
The reports states that home construction on the island had been left to the government, but “demand has outstripped supply and a dire lack of housing has greatly frustrated the island's 11 million inhabitants”.
Castro said the policy change would allow for the immediate construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes and directly boost the construction sector while indirectly improve the standard of living.
In Havana, about 50 000 new homes per year have been built, which represents approximately half of its annual goal. Figures were comparatively less during 2008 due to the widespread damage caused by three major hurricanes.
Other reform initiatives by President Castro include the privatisation of vacant farmlands, the increase in farmers’ wages and the liberalisation of the island’s transport sector to private contractors.
Residents have also been allowed to buy computers, own mobile telephones and rent cars in an effort to empower locals and attempt to soften the impact of the hard-line communism on the economy. ~~Adz:Right~~
Cuba News