Cuban Authorities Estimate in 10 Years Recovery of Housing Deficit

Officials of the Ministry of Construction (Micons) considered the period of recovery of the housing deficit in Cuba is estimated in 10 years.

A report published this Wednesday by website Cubadebate, reflects mentioned criteria during the TV program Mesa Redonda (Round Table) and explains some details on that issue.

The director general of housing in Cuba, Vivian Rodriguez, said the policy on housing gathers a group of actions and strategies to recover the strong deterioration of living quarters in all the country's provinces.

She clarified that some places have more incidence than others as is the case of Havana, Santiago de Cuba and Holguin, pointing as the most wanting the Eastern region.

She said that since the damages left by hurricane Irma, in September, 2017, which affected practically all the national territory, the Housing Direction got to work jointly with all the forces and resources the country gave the damaged territories.

That plan aims to recover, having as starting point the data of the housing fund in the country until June, 2017. To this was added an analysis of the existing situation before the triumph of the revolution in 1959.

She considers the leading role must be played by the population, together with all organisms and building enterprises working for the program.

In 1959, Cuba had some one million 256 thousand 594 houses, 400 thousand families living in huts, miserable rooms and neighborhood quarters in precarious condition, and there were 200 thousand shacks and rural 'bohios' made with palm trees.

Sixty-three percent of families lived in bad hygienic conditions, 91 percent of which lacked bathrooms or latrines.

Since then, have been built over two million 568 thousand housing units, while at present total housing amounts to over two million 568 thousand houses, making a total to date of more than three million 800 thousand living units, of which only five percent are in precarious conditions.

Seventy-nine percent of the 11.2 million inhabitants live in urban zones. About the evaluation of existing housing, Rodriguez informed that 39 percent of homes are in bad or regular conditions.

She estimated a present deficit of 929 thousand 695 housing units, of which must be built new some 527 thousand and refurbish some 402 thousand.

Except for Havana and Santiago de Cuba, she detailed, 60 percent of constructive actions must be carried out by personal efforts and 40 percent by state action.

The strategy, she specified, is to recover the housing deficit in the next 10 years.

We know there is an unsatisfied demand of natural resources and workforce, aspects on which actions will be implemented.

For its part, the director of the referred Program of the Ministry of Construction, Tomas Vazquez, stressed it is a program to solve Cuba's housing issue.