Cuba to rent state-owned workshops to boost private sector growth

Dec 26, 2011, 17:49 GMT

Havana - From January 1, Cuban authorities are to 'gradually' rent out state-owned workshops to the country's budding private sector, state media reported Monday.

Employees of state manual-labour firms will 'gradually over the course of this year' join the country's growing private sector, the Cuban Communist Party daily Granma said.

By the late 1960s, the regime then led by Fidel Castro put all small businesses in state hands.

Carpenters, photographers, jewelers, locksmiths and those who repair mattresses and home appliances are among those who will be able to rent public facilities.

The move is among other measures that the communist government has put in place in recent months to reform the island's stalling economy.

The authorities are to rent workshop equipment and facilities so that workers can use their skills for their own benefit, as they did earlier in sectors like hairdressing. Workers will in turn be allowed to set their own opening hours and prices, Granma said.

Workshops are set to be rented out in six of Cuba's 15 provinces, including Havana. The plan is to then extend the program to the rest of the country.

Critics of recent reforms have demanded that more qualified professionals also be allowed to work privately. Cuba has, for example, many well-trained doctors who get wages well below those available in the emerging private sector.

Last week, President Raul Castro signalled his willingness to relax Cuba's strict travel restrictions for its citizens, though no date was set for this. Further, banks started granting loans to farmers and others in the country's private sector.

There has been an easing of limits on state-owned firms, allowing them a greater flexibility to subcontract private-sector firms for their services. Such operations were previously only allowed for very small amounts of money.

New rules set by the Cuban Central Bank and the Finance Ministry allow banks to grant personal loans to stimulate private consumption.

Other reforms introduced over the last two years include allowing people to buy and sell their cars and homes for the first time in more than 50 years. Cubans have been allowed to stay in the island's luxury hotels, previously only for foreigners, and to own computers and mobile phones.