Economy & Trade, Headlines, Latin America & the Caribbean

CUBA: Tourism Ministry Denies Allegations of Corruption

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Dec 8 2003 (IPS) - Four senior executives of Cuba’s biggest state-run tourism organisation have been dismissed because of ”serious management errors,” but ”in no case have they participated in theft or embezzlement,” the Tourism Ministry said in a communique published Monday.

”It is true that the president of the Cubanacán group, the directors of two of its companies, and the head of one of its branch offices have been removed from their posts,” said the statement that appeared in Granma, the ruling Communist Party’s official daily newspaper.

The errors, according to the Tourism Ministry, were ”linked to a lack of discipline, control and other violations” of ”the strict standards that govern the conduct of Cuban leaders and officials.”

The note also stated that some of the errors committed ”are normal practices among executives in many other parts of the world.”

Experts consulted by IPS last week mentioned the acceptance of commissions or gifts offered in appreciation for successful business deals as a practice that is supposedly common in other countries but not permitted in socialist Cuba.

Unconfirmed reports began to circulate in this Caribbean island nation several days ago that a group of Cubanacán executives had been put under house arrest for the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars.

According to various sources, the former president of Cubanacán, Juan José Vega, was under house arrest, and other executives were also under investigation.

The statement published Monday, which was datelined Dec. 6, was the first official information provided on the case.

The Tourism Ministry said that although it is true that several officials have been removed from their posts, ”it is completely false that funds have been embezzled or stolen in the Cubanacán group.”

”No one has been placed under arrest in connection” with the case, and it is completely false ”that this could be the biggest case of corruption in years,” said the note, referring to reports on the scandal published late last week by several foreign press outlets, including IPS.

The Ministry also denied that the decisions taken were related to the exchange rate controls in effect for Cuban state-run companies, or that Cubanacán was being submitted to an audit.

”Cubanacán, like all Cuban companies, is actually subject to permanent, ongoing controls, with the aim of optimising the quality of their service, efficiency and discipline in the use of their funds,” it stated.

Cubanacán describes itself as ”a tourism and trade business holding that hosts around 40 percent of international tourists visiting Cuba.” It has nine offices in different countries of Europe and the Americas, 23 joint ventures for the development of hotels and other businesses, and 15 companies within Cuba.

Cubanacán runs 51 hotels, 52 restaurants and cafeterias, a chain store with more than 300 outlets, two marinas, 10 diving centres, nine fishing locations, a travel agency, a car rental and taxi service, a convention centre, and 15 entertainment centres including nightclubs and theme clubs.

The communique published by Granma said Tourism Minister Ibrahim Ferradaz is temporarily running Cubanacán, ”which is functioning normally…providing all of its normal services and fulfilling the commitments it has assumed.”

According to the Ministry, 2003 has been a year of recovery for the tourism industry. The number of visitors to the island grew 14 percent, revenues were up 19.2 percent, and over 1,700 new rooms have been added to Cuba’s total hotel capacity.

More than one and a half million tourists visited Cuba between January and October this year, nearly 190,000 more than in the same period in 2002. The tourism industry is Cuba’s main foreign exchange-earner, bringing in over 1.3 billion dollars last year, which accounted for more than 40 percent of Cuba’s balance of payments.

The Ministry said the recent events demonstrate Cuba’s ”serious and sustained efforts” to ”achieve ever-higher levels of efficiency and control.”

The incident also shows that ”any news associated with Cuba tends to be used to unleash an irresponsible media campaign against the growing prestige and notable economic and social advances of our country,” the statement added.