HAVANA, Cuba.- Cuban parliamentarians approved this Friday the 2016 budget outturn report and the opinion referred to it, in plenary session of the National Assembly attended by President of the Councils of States and Ministers Army General Raul Castro.
In the debate, the Comptroller General of the Republic, Gladys Bejerano, stated that there are progress in control actions; however, it urges a greater effort in grassroots entities and their direct linkage with local budgets.
The budget is everyone’s responsibility, she emphasized, and insisted on going to problems´ causes, training, being more systematic, demanding and respectful of legality.
Bejerano announced that the next national verification of internal control will be devoted mainly to inventories, by their effect on the national economy.
A Budget Executed in a Complicated Setting
The Minister of Finance and Prices, Lina Pedraza, said in the Parliament that the State budget for the previous year dodged a complex economic situation and managed to guarantee the country’s financial demands for social services.
In the plenary of the Convention Palace, the minister explained the financial tensions lived including the non-compliance of export earnings and strong constraints on the fuel supply, to which the blockade was added.
“In that context, we have to take restrictive measures in the second semester that minimized the effects on economy and the population,” Pedraza pointed out.
In her report to the National Assembly, the Minister of Finance and Prices remarked the allocation of almost 300 million pesos to six Western municipalities hit by Hurricane Matthew.
State Budget Supports Social Services
When informing members about budget outturn in 2016, Lina Pedraza underlined that 50 per cent of the expenditures of budgetary activity corresponded to education, public health and social assistance.
She noted that more than 1,300 million pesos were awarded in subsidies for the purchase of construction materials, which benefited more than 28 thousand families.
In the plenary session of the Cuban Parliament, Pedraza indicated the State budget also supported the execution of important works related mainly to fighting drought, roadways and railway activity.
The Minister of Finance and Prices insisted on the high levels of existing inventories for more than 23 million pesos, so she urged to reverse the situation that affects economy negatively.
Budget Discussions
An intervention by Deputy Susana Mengana generated an extended debate on the implementation of the State budget last year, from the interest to know the actions to reverse losses in some 60 companies of the ministries of Agriculture and Food Industry.
Deputies Gustavo Rodriguez, Maria del Carmen Concepcion and Salvador Pardo explained the measures taken and especially the program in progress to avoid losses over fruit production.
Yolanda Gomez, from Cabaiguan, and Julio Garcia from Batabano defended the control over the State’s resources and the design of a planning taking more into account the criteria of the productive base.
Besides, Tania Leon, from Colon, and Margarita Soroa from San Cristobal referred to the need to take more care of the resources allocated by the budget.