Translation: Guidelines debate 23, Housing

Here is Part 23 of my translation of the booklet Information on the results of the Debate on the Economic and Social Policy Guidelines for the Party and the Revolution, an explanatory document published together with the final version of the Guidelines adopted by the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) Congress in April. I've now translated 303 out of 313 guidelines. Tomorrow I'll complete the translation of this document. I'll then compile the 24 instalments into a single PDF document for easy reading and sharing, and post a link to this blog.

These guidelines deal with three vital sectors: construction, housing and water resources. The Revolution faces big challenges in all three areas. Construction lags far behind what is needed. The US economic siege and Cuba's status as an industrially underdeveloped country are partly to blame. Universal rather than targeted state subsidies, low wages and the administrative stifling of individual and collective initiative – three facets of the complex and deeply-rooted phenomenon of paternalism – have also contributed to the problems in this sector. Waste, mismanagement and the theft of construction materials also play a part.

In his landmark November 17, 2005 speech in which he warned that the Revolution could self-destruct, Fidel related how he came across an illegal sale yard for pilfered construction materials: "I recall that we were building an important biotechnological centre in Bejucal. There was a little cemetery close by. I was making my rounds, and one day I passed by the cemetery. There I saw a colossal market where the construction crew, both the foremen and many of the workers, had put up a market selling cement, steel rods, wood, paint, you name it, all kinds of construction materials. You know that construction has always been a very serious problem ... [I]t’s tragic the dilemma with the workers, the weaknesses of the foremen and of others in leading positions."

The problems in the construction sector are felt most acutely in the country's housing deficit of more than half a million homes, made worse by the ferocious 2008 hurricanes and earlier storms. The Guidelines call for individuals and the expanding non-state sector – self-employment, small businesses and cooperatives – to speed up housing repair and construction and to contribute to the production of building materials. The watchword is decentralisation, devolving more responsibility for the housing programme to the municipal level. Subsidised construction materials used to be allocated administratively by local authorities, which often led to favouritism and corruption. As called for in the Guidelines, non-subsidised construction materials can now be purchased is state stores when they are available. This has led to another problem: people buying up scare materials in bulk as soon as they arrive in the stores and then reselling them for a profit. Such hoarding and profiteering will diminish as production rises and supplies become plentiful.

Guideline 299 specifies that full or partial subsidies for housing repairs and construction will be made available to people who need them, rather than subsidising construction materials (and thus subsidising everyone, including those with higher incomes). The biggest change, however, is the decree law that legalises the buying and selling of homes – limited to one residence and one holiday home to prevent the concentration of property ownership. This law goes into effect today. Until now, only exchanging one home for another has been permitted, a prohibition that didn't stop the buying and selling of homes but spawned a black market in real estate in which housing exchanges were supplemented by illicit cash payments. As with other well-intentioned but excessive prohibitions in revolutionary Cuba, the inevitable counterpart of the black market has been the widespread corruption of administrators, who had to be bribed to turn a blind eye to illegal transactions.

Guideline 297 was modified on the basis of nearly 11,000 opinions expressed during the grassroots debates on the draft Guidelines. The popular will is expressed in the difference between the draft and final versions of this guideline. In the coming weeks I'll post translations and commentaries on this important and potentially far-reaching reform. Predictably, the global corporate media is awash with commentaries hailing the housing reform as Cuba's tentative embrace of capitalism. Some disillusioned or misinformed leftists echo this nonsense. But more on this later.

The format is as follows: number and text of the draft guideline, followed by the text and number of the corresponding guideline approved by the Communist Party Congress, followed by the drafting commission's explanation for the change. At the foot of the translation you'll see the label "Guidelines". Click on this blue label to view all of the instalments of my translation of this explanatory document sequentially.

An official English translation of the final version of the Guidelines has just become available. It does not include the draft Guidelines for comparison, nor the explanatory notes on the additions, deletions and amendments made on the basis of the public debate in the lead-up to the PCC Congress, all of which are included in this explanatory document.

Tobacco farmer's house with traditional thatched roof 

Construction, housing and water resources

Guidelines

Construction

268. Continue perfecting the elaboration of the balance sheet of the national capacity for construction and assembly, given its importance as a tool for the efficient planning of investments and their associated resources. (Maintained as Guideline 287)

269. Boost construction efficiency using systems of payment for results, creating double work shifts on projects where feasible, making better use of technical and non-technical equipment and introducing new technologies in construction, in particular for works linked to tourism.

Boost construction efficiency using systems of payment for results, creating double work shifts on projects where feasible, making better use of technical and non-technical equipment and introducing new technologies in construction. (288)

Given that payment systems affect the quality of work not only in tourism, but also in other construction projects. In response to 318 opinions in 15 provinces and the Congress discussions.

270. Consider the establishment of specialised enterprises of national scope for construction projects and works in programmes such as gold courses, dolphin aquariums, marinas, spas, themes parks and aquatic parks that are closely linked to tourism infrastructure.

Consider the establishment of specialised enterprises of national scope for construction projects and works in programmes such as gold courses, dolphin aquariums, marinas, spas, themes parks and aquatic parks that are closely linked to tourism infrastructure and other economic sectors that may require them. (289)

Adds other economic sectors so that the guideline is not limited to tourism.

271. Complete the review of construction prices in the short term, with the aim of measuring the real cost of construction works and implementing price changes accordingly.

Complete the review of construction prices with the aim of measuring the real value of construction works and implementing price changes accordingly. (290)

Eliminates “in the short term” to complete it according to the planned timeline. The text is clarified.

272. Adopt new organisational forms in construction, such as cooperatives and self-employed contractors.

Adopt new organisational forms in construction, both state and non-state. (291)

Broadens the organisational forms that will be established. In response to 59 opinions in 10 provinces.

Housing

273. Maintenance and conservation works on the housing stock will be given priority attention, including the adoption of non-state forms of management in order to resolve the housing problems of the population, as well as increase the availability of construction materials. (Maintained as Guideline 292)

274. Special attention must be given to ensuring that housing programmes at the municipal level are carried out, based on the raw materials available locally and the available technology for the manufacture of the necessary construction materials. (Maintained as Guideline 293)

275. Measures will be adopted that correspond with the priority of housing construction and repair in the countryside, taking into consideration the need to improve living conditions and the particularities that make this activity more complex in rural areas, with the aim of contributing to the stability of the food-producing workforce and meeting its needs.

Measures will be adopted that correspond with the priority of housing construction, conservation and rehabilitation in the countryside, taking into consideration the need to improve living conditions and the particularities that make this activity more complex in rural areas, with the aim of contributing to the stability of the food-producing workforce and meeting its needs. (294)

Includes the terms “conservation and rebailitation” because these are activities that can be carried out on the housing stock in rural areas.

276. The construction of new housing must be organised on the basis of the adoption of new forms that include a significant proportion of individual effort, as well as other non-state initiatives. Promote the introduction of new methods and the use of construction technologies that save materials and labour and that the population would find easy to use. Devise norms for the construction of common areas within multi-family housing projects, which given their degree of technical specialisation and complexity cannot be carried out by individual owners, who must cover the cost of these works in all cases.

The construction of housing must be organised on the basis of the adoption of various forms that include a significant proportion of individual effort, as well as other non-state initiatives. Promote the introduction of new methods and the use of construction technologies that save materials, energy and labour and that the population would find easy to use. Devise norms for the construction of common areas within multi-family housing projects, which given their degree of technical specialisation and complexity cannot be carried out by individual owners, who must cover the cost of these works in all cases. (295)

Improves the text.

277. Satisfy, through the construction materials industry, the demand for materials needed by investment projects and construction maintenance, and increase exports of the most competitive materials as well as sales to the population at minimal cost and without subsidies.

Satisfy, through the construction materials industry, with the required quality and with an emphasis on the local production of materials, the demand for sales to the population for the construction, conservation and rehabilitation of housing. (296)

Deletes content that is taken up in the current Guidelines 233 and 299 and adds the quality of materials. In response to 848 opinions in 15 provinces.

278. Apply flexible formulae for the exchange, buying, selling and leasing of housing, in order to facilitate the solution of the housing demands of the population.

Allow the buying and selling of housing and make more flexible other forms of ownership transfer (exchanges, donations and others) among individuals. Simplify the procedures for renovations, rehabilitation, construction, leasing and the transfer of property ownership, with the aim of facilitating the solution of the housing demands of the population. (297)

Incorporates new elements and tightens up the wording. In response to 10,942 opinions nationwide and the Congress discussion.

New guideline:

Add to the housing stock by making available houses that are being used for administrative or state purposes, as well as buildings that can be used for housing. (298)

Establishes the objective of reviewing the use of all types of buildings that may be able to be used for housing. In response to 1,102 opinions nationwide.

New guideline:

Construction materials for the conservation, rehabilitation and construction of housing will be sold at non-subsidised prices. In cases where it is required, people [rather than construction materials – translator’s note] will be subsidised partially or fully, within the planned limits. (299)

Reaffirms the policy of subsidising people rather than products. In response to 13,012
opinions nationwide.

Water resources

279. The water audit will constitute the planning tool through which the efficiency of water use by the state and private sectors is measured against the availability of this resource. (Maintained as Guideline 300)

280. The water supply programme will continue to be developed with large-scale investments to deal much more effectively with the problems of drought and the need to use water rationally across the country, increasing the area of irrigated farmland. (Maintained as Guideline 301)

281. The programme for the rehabilitiation of pipe networks, aqueducts and domestic sewerage services will be prioritised and extended, with the aim of reducing water losses in the medium term and simultaneously reducing energy consumption and increasing water recycling.

The programme for the rehabilitiation of pipe networks, aqueducts and domestic sewerage services will be prioritised and extended, according to the plan, with the aim of improving water quality, reducing water losses, increasing recycling and consequently reducing energy consumption. Include the sale of plumbing hardware and accessories to the population. (302)

Deletes “in the medium term” because this is a problem whose solution will take more time. Adds water quality and the sale of hardware to the population, give its importance in the programme. In response to the discussion at the Congress.

282. To promoting a culture of the rational use of water, study the adjustment of water rates, including sewerage, with the aim of gradually reducing the subsidy and wasteful water use. Make it mandatory for state and private customers to meter their water use and be charged for consumption. (Maintained as Guideline 303)