From our Bureau of Socialist Social Justice with some assistance from our Bureau of Socialist Charity, Benevolence, and Compassion
Yeah. As usual, Castro, Inc. will be SELLING hurricane relief materials to those unfortunate Cubans whose homes were damaged or destroyed. Naturally, Castro, Inc. is portraying itself as immensely generous, saying it is actually selling all this stuff at a 50% discount. Santa mierda de los perros de San Lazaro!
How are totally impoverished Cubans supposed to pay for these essential materials? Castro, Inc. has a benevolent response to that question. Yes. Castro, Inc. will LEND money to those Cubans who need it. No mention has been made of the interest rates.
Unbelievably, this totally heartless “relief” scheme — designed to enrich Castro, Inc. — is being touted as proof of the fact that the military junta that rules the island will never leave anyone helpless. Yeah. Lord have mercy.
Loosely translated from Diario de Cuba
Yanisley Ortiz Mantecón, Vice Minister of Finance and Prices, said in a press conference on Wednesday that “decisions have been adopted for the protection of the victims in the province” of Guantánamo, as set out in Agreement 9991 of the Council of Ministers, the official newspaper Granma reported.
According to Ortiz Mantecón, it was established that “from the State Budget, 50% of the price of construction materials will be subsidized for people whose homes are totally or partially damaged, and the prices of mattresses sold to those affected by the impact of this hydrometeorological event.”
For people whose income is not sufficient to purchase the goods mentioned above, there is access to “bank loans, request subsidies for the purchase of construction materials charged to the State Budget, or request financing from Social Assistance, in accordance with the provisions of current legislation.”
Ortiz Mantecón used these measures as an example of how in Cuba “no one is left helpless.”
Housing suffered the greatest damage after the impact of Oscar in San Antonio del Sur, Imías, Maisí and Baracoa. Official statistics published by the official newspaper Venceremos show that 11,402 houses were affected, of which 257 had total collapses, 360 had partial collapses, and 9,198 had partial roof loss. Of the total number, 443 are temporary facilities for victims of Hurricane Matthew in the municipality of Baracoa, who will have priority in this initial stage of recovery, as promised by the Provincial Defense Council.
Families from disasters that occurred in past decades continue to accumulate on the Island, to whom the Government made promises of housing, but they remain in shelters, most of them in precarious conditions.
The Norwegian embassy in Cuba announced on Thursday the contribution of 400,000 dollars to help in the recovery of the territories of Guantanamo affected by the passage of Hurricane Oscar.
“Our solidarity is with the eastern Cuban territory affected by the passage of Hurricane Oscar. The Government of Norway through the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) of the United Nations and the Disaster Emergency Response Fund (DREF) of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), contributes with 400,000 dollars in support of the victims in the eastern Cuban territory. These resources will be used to support the most urgent needs,” wrote the diplomatic headquarters on Facebook.
Simple: No opportunity to generate revenue for Castro, Inc. can be wasted. The prime directive trumps all.