Caribbean & Central America - May 2007 (ISSN 1741-4458)

The government signalled the start of another anti-corruption drive on 8 May with an article in Granma, the party daily newspaper, which drew attention to the way the banking system facilitates corruption.

The article was written by Sabó Herrera, the director of verification at the Fiscalí­a General de la República, who said that the banking system had blindspots. The central bank admitted that even advanced economies were vulnerable to people who were determined to act corruptly. However, Jorge Barrera, a vice president at the central bank, claimed that corruption in the Cuban banking system was well controlled. 

The audit and control ministry noted in April that accounting systems were deficient in Cuba. It called for a change in outlook. Lina Pedraza, the minister, was dismissed soon after making that call. She said that it was inexcusable that companies which had been audited two or three times in a year suddenly collapsed. 

Cuba watchers infer from the fury of the debate that there is a major scandal lurking in the background. This could be anything from dud loans made by banks to too much intercompany credit. 

Construction: The economic affairs committee of the Cuban parliament reported that the construction industry delivered an unsatisfactory performance in 2006 because of poor planning; preparation and execution of some projects.