The members of the Council of State approved two new decree laws that contribute to the strengthening of aspects of the economic and social life of the country and analyzed important issues on the national agenda, in the extraordinary session this Tuesday, headed by the President of this body, Esteban Lazo Hernández, and with the participation of the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party and President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, and the Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz.
On the day, other relevant processes developed these days in the nation were also examined, among them the march of the popular consultation of the Family Code, and the reports of the accountability of the presidents of the popular councils and the control carried out by the permanent work commissions of the National Assembly of People's Power (ANPP).
New regulatory provisions approved
As the first item on the agenda, the decree law "On the Recognition of Time of Service for the Granting of Pensions to Commercial Fishermen" was adopted. This rule exceptionally recognizes the years of service of fishermen who exercised private commercial fishing prior to the entry into force of Law 129 "Fishing Law", of July 13, 2019, for the sake of their protection through the special regime of social security established in Decree Law 48 "Of the Special Social Security Regime for Self-Employed Workers, Members of Non-Agricultural Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Private Enterprises", of August 6, 2021.
In this regard, Martha Elena Feitó Cabrera, Minister of Labor and Social Security, clarified that the time of service provided is accredited through the economic contracts signed with the fishing companies, the fishing license or the certification issued by the National Office of State Inspection that endorses your registration.
The regulatory provision adds that commercial fishermen, during a period of five years, counted from the date of entry into force of the decree law, once affiliated to the special social security regime, can pay voluntarily, with retroactive effect, the contribution to social security, for the time required to complete the contribution requirement established in the regulation.
Then, the members of the State Council approved the decree law "Modifying Law 144 "On the State Budget for the Year 2022", of December 21, 2021. Meisi Bolaños Weiss, head of Finance and Prices, stated that the regulation leaves without effect the limits set for the holder of this branch, in the exercise of the power granted to him in article 6 section 1 of the aforementioned law, with the aim of achieving the reallocation of planned budget resources, with greater flexibility based on its execution and support for levels of activity in the social and economic sectors.
Both regulations will be published opportunely in the Official Gazette of the Republic.
It continues strengthening the organs of Popular Power in CubaIn Tuesday's session, the Council of State adopted the new Operating Regulations for the Auxiliary Offices of the National Assembly of People's Power and the Council of State, a pertinent update with the aim of incorporating the new structures created and their functions, for the adequate fulfillment of the attributions recognized to these organs.
Yumil Rodríguez Fernández, deputy head of the Secretariat of the National Assembly, argued that the new Regulation takes into account what is stipulated in Agreement no. 147 of the Council of State, issued on March 22, 2021, which provided for the ANPP Secretariat to have an Independent Department in each province, with the mission of assisting the Cuban legislature, the Council of State and its Auxiliary Offices in their relations with the local organs of People's Power in the territories and in the fulfillment of their attributions.
Likewise, it adjusts some aspects related to the structure and functions of other organizational units, such as updating the functions of the Staff Directorate by virtue of the new regulatory provisions on the matter and the creation of an Independent Department of Information and Analysis.
Subsequently, the result of the control carried out on the rendering of accounts of the presidents of popular councils by the permanent work commission of Local Organs of People's Power of the Cuban Parliament was reported. This process was verified in 33 municipalities, where the deputies exchanged with 225 members of popular councils and their presidents, as well as contacted directors of municipal assemblies, other delegates and voters in order to know their opinions on the matter.
It transpired that this act was carried out in all the municipalities, and that of the 1,401 popular councils constituted in the country, in 1,360 their presidents gave an account, as a genuine expression of socialist democracy. In the remaining 41, in which this attribution was not fulfilled, the causes were analyzed, which were mostly due to the fact that the President did not accumulate the required time in office to render an account and to other justified reasons. On this subject, the parliamentary commission made several proposals to continue strengthening the development of this process, based on the deficiencies detected.
For her part, Ana María Mari Machado, vice president of the Cuban Parliament, offered a detailed explanation on the control carried out by the permanent work commissions of the National Assembly of People's Power to fulfill the mandates provided for in the provisions – special, transitory and final. – of several decree laws issued by the Council of State. In this way, the implementation of eight regulatory provisions issued by this body between 2020 and 2021 was verified, in compliance with the instructions made in this regard by President Esteban Lazo.
After exchanges held with managers, officials and representatives of agencies of the Central State Administration, verifications in some territories and other actions carried out, it was found that, in general, the issues set forth in the decree laws have been fulfilled. However, in some cases they have not been carried out within the established deadlines, while in others the monitoring and control has not been adequate.
Therefore, the parliamentary commissions recommended submitting the report on the results of this exercise to the Prime Minister of the Republic, as well as continuing to carry out verifications of this type in the first half of 2022, as an effective mechanism to control compliance with the provisions in the decree laws approved by the Council of State.
With popular participation, Cuba legislates
Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez, president of the National Electoral Council, updated the Council of State on the results of the popular consultation of the Family Code until March 20, 2022. She highlighted that, until that date, 62,023 meetings had been held in the country, which represents 78.32% of the total plan, and an average attendance of 75.41% is reported.
Balseiro Gutiérrez stressed that, as a result of the meetings, 259,287 interventions and 280,849 proposals have been made up to the time of closing the report, of which 278,837 have already been processed.
He added that on March 12, in a ceremony held at the institutional headquarters of the National Assembly of People's Power, the closing of the first informative section of the popular consultation was delivered to the Drafting Commission, a process that began in the country on March 1st. February and will run until April 30, 2022.
Then, Rubén Remigio Ferro, president of the People's Supreme Court, presented to this body the draft laws of the Penal Code and Penal Enforcement, which were approved in preliminary form by the members of the Council of State with a view to their presentation to the deputies in the next Ordinary Period of Sessions of the Cuban Parliament.
The three aforementioned bills were published on the website of the National Assembly, with the aim of promoting citizen participation in this legislative process and contributing to raising the legal culture of Cuban men and women. The population can express their considerations about them through the emails provided: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., respectively.Actions to improve the work of the Council of State.
Finally, Yumil Rodríguez Fernández, deputy head of the Secretariat of the National Assembly of People's Power, delved into the historical reasons for the emergence of the Council of State, the principles of its operation and its powers, enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic proclaimed in 2019 and in Law no. 131 “Of Organization and Functioning of the National Assembly of Popular Power and the Council of State”, of December 20, 2019.
He stated that this body has been characterized by a more systematic operation, from the validity of the current Magna Carta. In this sense, from its constitution in October 2019 to the present, it has held 18 meetings and by individual consultation has spoken on more than 350 occasions. At the same time, in compliance with the Legislative Schedule, it has issued 58 decree laws and 364 agreements. The examination and approval of normative provisions stand out on the agenda of its sessions, although matters related to the functioning of People's Power have been evaluated, Rodríguez Fernández highlighted.
However, today it is necessary to strengthen the functioning of this body, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the law. With this objective, the members of the Council of State approved a plan of topics for the remainder of the mandate, which will contribute to its improvement and the fulfillment of its attributions.