The Isle of Youth fishing industry
Cuban
Radar Read Spanish Version
The
Isle of Youth fishing industry
A
service by the Radio Progreso Alternativa Havana Bureau
The
Isle of Youth, formerly known as the Isle of Pines, was devastated by
hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Its fishing industry almost collapsed due
to damage to the fleet — 36 boats need repairing — and to
facilities dedicated to industrial processing.
Antonio
Rivera Orta, deputy director of the enterprise Pescaisla, told the
National Information Agency that they will restart work by the end of
this month.
According
to the news agency, the plants lost their roofing and 60 percent of
the division panels in the rooms for lobster processing. Workers are
also toiling in the recovery of refrigerating systems. The hurricanes
damaged the warehouse which held the refrigerated containers, the
freezing tunnel, and the engine and boiler rooms.
A
battlefield scene
The
town of Jesús Menéndez, formerly Chaparra, in the
eastern province of Las Tunas, was one of the most punished by
Hurricane Gustav. The scenery is the living image of a town after a
fierce battle.
In
spite of efforts by the power company’s workers, part of the
municipality still lacks electricity. The same can be said about
telephone service. Also, hundreds of acres of plantain were totally
destroyed, and of the 14,000 homes in the area, 3,363 have been
completely lost and about 4,300 are roofless.
Cuba
at the UN’s General Assembly
First
Vice President of Cuba José R. Machado Ventura, who heads the
Cuban delegation to the 63rd General Assembly of the UN, participated
in the panel "Africa’s Development Needs". In a speech,
Machado said that "Africans do not need new promises or
paternalist recipes. What the peoples of Africa and of all the planet
demand is respect for their right to a fair and equal international
order in which solidarity and cooperation for the welfare of each
people and each human being are the first guiding principles."
The
Cuban vice president called for an end to the present unjust and
unsustainable economic, commercial and financial order that
marginalizes and sacrifices 80 percent of the world’s population in
order to sustain the squandering and extravagances of a minority.
Machado
defined the collaboration of his country with Africa as an "essential
component of the Revolution’s foreign policy," and contrasted
the assistance given by Cuba, who has graduated more than 32,000
young Africans, with the lack of political will of the Northern
countries.
Cuba
will present a resolution condemning the U.S. blockade against the
Island at the General Assembly for the 17th
consecutive year. It has been approved consecutively since 1992, the
most recent one in 2007 with only 4 votes against — the United
States, Israel, Marshall Islands and Palau.
Brazil-Cuba
Work Group
The
8th Meeting of the Cuba-Brazil Work Group for Technical Collaboration
ends Friday, September 26. During their meeting groups have reached
important agreements including the signing of the 2008-2009
collaboration programs. According to the September 23 Granma
daily,
agreements "include actions in the fields of mining, finance,
health, the environment, education, fishing, culture, sugar industry
and agriculture, among others."
Pros
and cons in energy recovery
According
to the September 24 Granma, after being ravaged by Hurricanes Gustav
and Ike, the eastern province of Holguín already has restored
power to 76 percent of its territory. Three of its municipalities are
still not at that rate.The
municipalities are Rafael Freire with only 50% of clients with power,
Gibara with 42 percent and Banes with 34 percent.
