The Prices In The All Stores Are Fined

"The Prices In The All Stores Are Fined" /Jorge Olivera Castillo

Posted on November 24, 2013



Havana, Cuba, November, www.cubanet.org — The details of the corrupt

practices detected in the Carlos III Complex of stores and in a

municipal entity in the business of community services reinforce

opinions about the incapacity of the government to stop a phenomenon

that has metastasized in Cuban society.



As on previous occasions, people have counted on documentary proof of

the facts, recorded on flash drives that are distributed furtively from

hand to hand. One never knows who is the initial provider, but

presumably it is a premeditated act in the Ministry of the Interior. The

lack of official information is compensated for by the traffic in

copies, rented or sold, to a clientele eager to find out the identity of

the guilty parties and their schemes to enrich themselves.



Both cases, occurrences in Havana, again reliably demonstrate the

infeasibility of economic centralization. In most state enterprises. a

lack of administrative control still prevails, which facilitates the

growth of corruption in all its forms.



The efforts by the General Controller of the Republic to put a stop to

it are worth nothing. Few wind up in prison. The rest contrive to

continue their dirty shenanigans which include embezzlement, extortion

and bribery.



"Prices in all the stores are 'fined.' Besides being already inflated by

order of the enterprise that provides the merchandise, extra is added

that is later shared between the management, the financially

responsible, and the employees," a store clerk explained to me on

condition of anonymity.



"Our salary is a pittance. If we don't do this, it would be like working

for free. It's true that we steal from the customer, but those are the

rules of the game. This is every man for himself," he added.



In the conversation I found out that the managers make off with the

greater part of the illegal revenues. In some cases their earnings

exceed 300 convertible pesos a day. Such dividends represent a fortune

in a country where the average salary is less then one convertible peso

daily.



Among the beneficiaries of these illegalities must also be mentioned the

hundreds of former counter-intelligence officials. Not a few are listed

on the security payrolls of each shopping center, others work as

inspectors of those who have to deliver part of the booty. Refusing to

do it is the shortest path to jail.



In the end, everything functions without setbacks. They only have to

comply with the established codes. From time to time, the general

controller, Gladys Bejerano, in order not to completely lose her

credibility, decides to put an end to some of the corruption. It is like

putting your hand in a drum with your eyes closed. You will always

extract a corrupt person, but at a low level, since the big ones are

untouchable.



Jorge Olivera Castillo



Cubanet, November 20, 2013



Translated by mlk



Source: ""The Prices In The All Stores Are Fined" /Jorge Olivera

Castillo | Translating Cuba" -

http://translatingcuba.com/the-prices-in-the-all-stores-are-fined-jorge-olivera-castillo/