Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has urged socialist state-owned enterprises to become more agile, efficient, and competitive — without abandoning their fundamental nature — by leveraging the economic and social transformations currently being driven by the country.
While participating in a seminar with over 50 executives regarding the 176 approved transformations, the president shared his views on the role the country’s leadership assigns to state-owned enterprises. He discussed the function of their management teams, the importance of active trust, social responsibility, worker participation, and the negative tendencies that must be avoided or addressed.
He emphasized that the management teams of state-owned enterprises require qualified members and must function effectively—free from administrative formalities that act as a drag on innovation and development, or that lead to excessive bureaucracy.
Díaz-Canel noted that the values to be embraced by leadership include a shift in mindset, a sense of ownership, social responsibility, and a commitment to fostering greater worker participation.
During the meeting, held in late September, the head of state reaffirmed the national leadership’s confidence in the business sector’s capacity to contribute to economic development.
He cautioned that this trust comes with a requirement: directors must position themselves at the forefront of the transformation process, rather than lagging behind in a stance of resistance.
He asserted that the prominence of the socialist state-owned enterprise cannot be measured solely by the number of such entities, but rather by the quality of their management in addressing current challenges, and by their genuine ability to generate economic efficiency compared to other forms of ownership and management. He further emphasized that the socialist state-owned enterprise is neither a marginal player nor an appendage of the administrative apparatus; rather, it is the primary agent of the national economy and the fundamental link for implementing the 176 transformations.
Among the premises for these changes, the leader highlighted the unprecedented degree of autonomy granted to state-owned enterprises regarding the administration and management of their resources, according to information published on the Presidency’s website.
Nevertheless, he stressed that this autonomy must translate into increased production, higher revenue, the generation of foreign currency, better pricing, greater momentum in job creation, and a tangible improvement in the population’s standard of living.
He reiterated that this transformation process aims to attract capital, boost efficiency, and better leverage the capabilities of state-owned enterprises — all while preserving social ownership as an inviolable principle.
Díaz-Canel also identified four key areas that should guide these transformations: the energy transition; the circular economy; science and innovation; and digital transformation, including process automation and artificial intelligence.
[ SOURCE: PRENSA LATINA ]
