Cuba to recognize small, mid-sized private firms

By Neysi Hernandez

HAVANA (AA) – The Cuban government will recognize small and mid-sized businesses, according to documents published by the Communist Party.

In recent years the government has eased restrictions on private businesses but the pace of private enterprise growth has been slow.

Some business owners said these types of established are already being conducted in Cuba but they welcomed the move and hope it would expand the potential for growth.

“These measures can be extended for more work as limits are eliminated and many families improve their income,” beauty salon owner Andria Martinez told Anadolu Agency.

The plan laid out by the Communist Party Congress last month in a 32-page document published Tuesday, acknowledged the need to reform the current approach by the party.

"Private property in certain means of production contributes to employment, economic efficiency and well-being, in a context in which socialist property relationships predominate," according to the document.

President Raul Castro last month told the Congress that the proliferation of micro, small and medium private enterprises do not involve the restoration of capitalism on the island. But he added, "private companies will operate in well-defined limits and will provide a complementary element of the economic fabric of the country, all of which should be regulated by law.”

The National Assembly must approve the plan and will meet in July when a vote may take place.