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Translation: Guidelines debate 13, Investment

Here is Part 13 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.

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. You'll find it easiest to read on my blog where
the amended guidelines are in bold font.

Investment policy

Guidelines

109. The most important investments will correspond to the country's short, medium and long term development strategy, eradicating spontaneity, improvisation, superficiality, failure to achieve the scope of the projected investment, lack of in-depth feasibility studies and the absence of an integral approach.

The most important investments will correspond to the country's short, medium and long term development strategy, eradicating spontaneity, improvisation, superficiality, lack of fulfilment of plans, lack of in-depth feasibility studies and the absence of an integral approach. (116)

Replaces "scope" with "plans" for clarity, in response to 410 opinions in 15 provinces.

New guideline:

Technological and building maintenance activities will be prioritised in all economic sectors. (117)

Separates maintenance activities from the original guideline 110 to give it the priority it deserves, given 4,338 opinions nationwide.

110. Investments in the productive sphere will be prioritised in order to generate incomes in the short term, aimed at increasing exports of goods and services and import substitution, as well as infrastructure investments needed for the economic development of the country. Maintenance activities will be prioritised over investments.

Priority will be given to investments in the productive sphere and services that achieve beneficial results in the short term, as well as infrastructure investments needed for the sustainable development of the country's economy. (118)

Maintenance is dealt with in the new guideline 117. The efficiency of the investment process is highlighted, services are included and the wording is improved. Given 549 opinions in 15 provinces.

Chavez hugs his daughters Rosa and Maria after surgery in Cuba

111. The Economy and Planning Ministry will demand greater acountability from the entities of the Central State Administration and the Provincial Administration Councils so that those responsible for carrying out investments, from conception to the evaluation of results, comply with the corresponding regulations. The investor will have the maximum responsibility for planning, execution, control, financing and implementation of their investments.[1]

Increase the levels of accountability and oversight of the Central State Administration and the [Provincial and Municipal] Administration Councils with regard to their role as key investors, to ensure that they carry out investments in an integral manner from conception through to the evaluation of results. (119)

Adds "and oversight" and deletes "provincial" to encompass the municipal level as well, in response to 1,094 opinions nationwide. The wording is improved.

112. The quality and standing of the General Territorial and Urban Zoning Plans will be boosted at the national, regional and provincial levels, as will their integration with the medium and long term projections for the economy and the Investments Plan. The use of macro-localisation as a tool for planning must be revived to ensure the depth, agility and response time of the obligatory consultation process with the Central State Administration entities and the Provincial Administration Council investors with the System of Physical Planning. Restore locality and urban planning discipline.

The quality and standing of the general plans of territorial zoning will be boosted at the national, regional and provincial levels, as will their integration with the medium and long-term projections for the economy and the Investments Plan, taking into account the risks of earthquakes and other natural disasters. Ensure the depth, agility and response time of the obligatory consultation processes, restoring locality and urban planning discipline. (120)

The territorial aspects are better defined, and the risk of earthquakes and other natural disasters and their impact on the investment process is added. The wording is improved. Given 143 opinions in 15 provinces and the discussion at the [Sixth Communist Party] Congress.

113. Conditions will be created for a progressive decentralisation of the Investments Plan and a change in its conception, granting powers of approval to the Central State Administration entities, the Provincial Administration Councils, state enterprises and budgeted entities in response to global frameworks for sectors, branches and entities, with direct indicators of physical execution and the effectiveness of the plan, elaborating and putting into practice norms to ensure a real and agile ordering of the investment process.

Conditions will be created for a progressive decentralisation of the Investments Plan and a change in its conception, granting powers of approval to the Central State Administration entities, the [Provincial and Municipal] Administration Councils, state enterprises and budgeted entities. (121)

"Provincial" is eliminated to also encompass the municipal level. The text is improved. In response to 160 opinions in 14 provinces.

114. Contracts will constitute a working tool in the planning and control of all phases of the investment process, principally in relation to the prices agreed to and the time-frames for execution.

Contracts will constitute a working tool in the planning and control of all phases of the investment process, assuring the final result of the investment with the required quality and within the agreed time-frame for execution. (122)

Adds the reference to quality and makes the wording more precise, given 1,259 opinions nationwide.

115. Systems of payment and of incentives and salary penalties will be evaluated and proposed for all those involved in the investment process, linked to the results achieved in the different phases of investment, including the new system of incentives for double shifts where conditions for this exist. (Integrated with guidelines 20, 141, 170 and 288).

The content of the original guideline is reflected in various guidelines in other chapers.

116. Investments that are approved will, as a norm, have the capacity to pay for themselves with their own results and will have to be financed with external credit or their own funds, the reimbursement of which will come from finances generated by the investment itself, whether through higher incomes or lower costs.

Investments that are approved will, as a policy, have the capacity to pay for themselves with their own results and will have to be financed with external credit or their own funds, the reimbursement of which will come from finances generated by the investment itself. (123)

Substitutes "policy" for "norm" to avoid confusion with norms that may be legal or some other type. The wording is improved.

117. An order of priority for the execution of investments must be drawn up to minimise the simultaneous immobilisation of resources in projects with a long timeframe for completion. It is preferable to prioritise the planning and execution of investments with short timeframes or those that better allow for the key objectives to be realised.

Establish a time-frame for the execution of investments that minimises the immobilisation of resources in projects with a long time-frame for completion. Prioritise the planning and execution of investments with short time-frames or those that better allow for the key objectives to be realised. (124)

The text is modified to make it more emphatic and to aid comprehension.

118. Investments with long time-frames for completion require the establishment of priorities in stages, so that each stage can function independently from the others and immediately begin to recover the financial outlay. (Maintained as guideline 125)

119. Investments in the industrial sector, responsible for the the manufacture of capital goods and intermediaries in the national economy, must be prioritised in line with the strategic objectives of the country. (Maintained as guideline 126)

120. The principles and methods of new management techniques for the state investment process will continue to be assimilated and incorporated, starting with the participation of International Economic Association project managers and builders in the execution of complex investments. The participation of foreign managers and builders to guarantee the execution of investments whose complexity and importance require it is highly valued. The necessary regulations will be drawn up to ensure that the positive experiences of these foreign partners are assimilated.

The principles and methods of new management techniques for the investment process will continue to be assimilated and incorporated, including those of project management and construction entities that are partners in International Economic Associations [i.e. joint ventures]. The participation of foreign managers and construction firms to guarantee the execution of investments whose complexity and importance require it is highly valued. (127)

The word "entities" is included to clarify that it refers to legal entities [rather than individuals] and the wording is improved.

121. Evaluate the tendering process for design and construction services among Cuban enterprises, proposing and implementing measures to increase their efficiency, competitiveness and quality as required by the country's investment process.

Evaluate the tendering process for design and construction services among Cuban entities, proposing and implementing measures to increase their efficiency, competitiveness and quality as required by the country's investment process. (128)

Replaces "enterprises" with "entities" to allow for the possibility that cooperatives and other organisational forms of management can be considered, in response to 27 proposals in 9 provinces.

[1] Presumably "investor" here refers to the Cuban entity carrying out the investment or an individual appointed by this entity to oversee the investment — translator's note.

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