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( 0 Rating )When traveling the main arteries of this municipality, cars, bike-taxis, cafeterias, points of sale of household supplies come to life before the push of so many self-employed workers. Today, when the economic crisis facing the country, aggravated by the North American blockade and COVID-19, threatens to extinguish the aspirations of many, they are striving to maintain the vitality of their businesses.
These and other difficulties mark its current performance, but even so this workforce grows in a territory where a total of 1,373 people, mostly women and young people, find in this form of work an alternative to the scarce employment options.
MEASURE THE PULSE OF NON-STATE WORK
Landlords of houses, rooms and spaces, telecommunications agents, producers-sellers of various articles, messengers and carters head the list of the most representative activities of the municipality. Regarding their behavior in recent months, Lázaro Pino Rodríguez, deputy director of self-employment in the territory, argues:
“At the end of February, of the total, 1,093 workers came from the Labor Directorate, 276 from the State Traffic Unit and four from the National Insurance Company. 17 of them exercise more than one activity and 78 percent are located in the Pedro Betancourt and Bolondrón Popular Councils.
“Food services and messaging stand out among the fastest growing activities. Compared to the previous period, there is an increase of 47 workers ”, he adds.
But the alterations in prices and scope of the activity are among the violations detected by the governing body, during the tours carried out in conjunction with the Municipal Directorate of Finance and Prices.
“Some violate the prices set by the Board of Directors, others do not comply with the scope of the activity. They have been notified, warned and in some cases Decree 357 has been applied to them, ”he points out.
Complying with tax burdens is another of the obligations of these workers. During the exchange with several of them they claim to keep their accounts with the National Tax Administration Office (ONAT) up to date, however, difficulties with payments persist in the territory.
Yadira Martínez Delgado, municipal director of the Onat, confesses that at the moment they are behind in the campaign, therefore he urges taxpayers to declare before April 30.
“The most difficult thing is to achieve the presentation of the Sworn Declaration on time, due to the low existing tax culture. We give them the necessary assistance, but even so it is not possible for everyone to enter the voluntary period and after this the office has to act with those who do not pay in the time and in the established manner ”, he adds.
As a consequence of the breach of these obligations, 41 casualties requested by the ONAT are registered in the territory. Lázaro Pino Rodríguez highlights the prophylactic work carried out by the municipal multidisciplinary group, which made it possible to largely recover the debt, although the notified workers decided not to continue exercising the activity.
Yadira Martínez emphasizes that said office also applies compensatory measures such as those in force for taxpayers who were suspended for six months due to the effect of COVID-19, so that the number of exempted rises to 78.
However, perfecting this system is one of the pending tasks that as part of the new economic strategy promises more bearable provisions for workers in the sector.
But without underestimating the responsibilities, there are also many concerns such as that of Armando Trujillo, a carrier, who worries about the conditions of the roads: “They are in very bad condition and due to this same situation, accidents have already occurred. It not only endangers the lives of the self-employed, but of the passengers themselves ”.
Along with him, other piquera companions mention an issue that is not real because it is repeated and is the need for spare parts for their cars and trucks, which largely support inter-municipal transportation and whose means suffer from the wear and tear of time, in an age in which parts acquire ever more exorbitant prices.
A few blocks from there, on the road to the old Central Cuba, other criteria related to the new rental price established by the Directorate of Communal Services are heard.
“The new price per square meter is very high and does not correspond to this activity, as it does not generate so much income. If a decision is not made before June 1, the expiration date of our contract, I would have to close, because the account does not give me ", confesses Edelio Hernández, seller of various articles.
Meanwhile, Jesús Nicolás, a shoemaker, emphasizes that the majority of tenants in the area are in the same situation, many of whom have already closed their kiosks. "Other people interested in occupying some of these spaces retract when they know the situation," he assures.
Faced with these approaches Gladys Rodríguez López, municipal mayor, explains: “The Board of Directors analyzes this problem, however, the prices of Communals per square meter differentiate the urban area from the rural one, hence the amount to be paid for these posts located in the center of the headland helmet ”.
On the issue of vials, Rodríguez López acknowledges that they are in terrible condition. “It is not in the hands of the municipality to resolve this situation one hundred percent. We began to repair the boundaries with the Unión de Reyes territory and the factory broke down. Even so, these tasks are partial and would not solve the problem, ”he points out.
The sale of some products in the ideal markets is another of the strategies implemented in Pedro Betancourt, in an attempt to overcome the lack of inputs for the performance of gastronomic activities.
However, despite the current complex crisis, much remains to be done to respond to each approach, a purpose that as part of the task of ordering must be attached to their needs on the basis of equity and progress. It is therefore urgent to look for alternatives that, based on local production, counteract the deficit, as well as to reassess the prices of those services that, far from motivating them, harm them.
The countless signs of solidarity and commitment on the part of this sector in the midst of the current pandemic, as well as its creativity and disposition towards work, demand careful attention as the country manages to overcome financially, in order to take advantage of these potentialities, since As Alejandro Gil Fernández, vice prime minister and head of the Economy and Planning, put it, there is only one economy, there is not one state and one private.
#We are Cuba
By: Jeidi Suárez García
