If We All Engage, We Will Have a Different Havana

A critical debate with officials from municipal administrations and managers of entities and workplaces—whose facilities, and especially their surroundings, show a dire hygienic situation—marked the third meeting of the country's leadership with provincial authorities to evaluate and resolve accumulated problems in the capital.

The discussion began with a succinct but revealing video that, as a sample, captured multiple irregularities just hours earlier in entities from the state and non-state sectors, in social institutions, at service points, and in other public places where garbage, overgrown weeds, urban neglect, and other ills prevail. These issues speak volumes about the social responsibility and duty that state and private centers have but are not fulfilling.

When demanding explanations from a wide range of managers—from public works officials to business administrators, among other responsible parties—for the state of affairs in and around the areas under their responsibility, those involved outlined the measures to solve these problems, many of which are already underway.

In one of his remarks during the meeting, the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and President of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, stated that the difficulties in Havana must be identified by name.

He observed that following the campaign developing in the city to clean it, organize it, and solve its most pressing limitations, action has begun. "But why wasn't it done before?" he asked, while also criticizing that some state centers have still not joined these tasks.

The Political Bureau member and Secretary of Organization of the Party Central Committee, Roberto Morales Ojeda, had previously commented that if, as a result of this movement for hygiene, order, and beautification, all workplaces join in, Havana will show a change.

He explained, however, that to achieve this purpose, the administrative leadership, the Party, the Young Communist League, and the union of each workplace must play their role; the same applies to the Popular Councils, where the government, the Party, and other community factors must act.

"We have to work," reflected the Secretary of Organization of the Party Central Committee, "under the concept of cleaning, organizing, and beautifying with good taste, and that can be done without so many resources, with what we have in each place," he assured. "And if it is done," he reiterated, "we will have a different Havana."

The First Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee in Havana, Liván Izquierdo Alonso, commented that although significant progress has been made in cleaning the capital in recent days, since last Friday, if work on cleaning does not continue and what has already been achieved in areas cleared of solid waste is not sustained, the situation will regress.

But if the work is done properly, this situation should not repeat itself, the party leader explained, since with the available resources and means, if used efficiently, "we will be able to maintain the progress we have made."

Izquierdo Alonso advocated for the need to increase results in the city's sanitation, for which, he explained, the change in activity for the city's workplaces on Thursday and Friday will be crucial, as they will dedicate efforts to garbage collection, cleaning, and other actions.

ON WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND THE MUCH THAT REMAINS TO BE DONE

The third exchange in less than a week between the country's leadership and Havana authorities to follow up on sanitation works, improvements in water supply, and solutions to other problems was also attended by Political Bureau member Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister; José Ramón Monteagudo Ruiz, member of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee and head of the Agri-Food Department; Inés María Chapman Waugh, Deputy Prime Minister; and the main political and administrative authorities of the city.

The Governor of Havana, Yanet Hernández Pérez, reported on the positive impact that the current actions in favor of Havana are having, while prioritizing greater popular participation in sanitation tasks and working to ensure that everything achieved is sustainable over time.

Regarding water supply via the aqueduct network and water trucks, she reported that nearly 115,000 people have benefited, although some 135,000 residents of the capital still have affected service.

In the province, new points of easy access to water are continually being created, with a policy of not losing those already established. Actions are also underway to resolve issues with problematic pumps at the filling points for water trucks.

Regarding the evacuation of solid waste, she reported that the general trend is an increase in collection; in recent days, nearly 90,000 cubic meters of garbage have been deposited in the city's large landfills.

However, the Governor noted, there are places that have not yet been reached for collection, cleaning, weeding, or pruning.

Hernández Pérez reported on new studies to calculate the volume of solid waste generated in the capital. She exemplified that in 2007, approximately 15,500 cubic meters were generated daily; in 2014, it rose to nearly 24,000 due to the tourism boom and the emergence of new forms of state management; and in 2024, it is estimated that Havana generates just over 30,000 cubic meters of garbage per day. All this in a context where the population living permanently in the city has been decreasing.

She also explained the plan for the maintenance and repair of specialized Public Works vehicles, which has not been fulfilled due to the low availability of resources, such as oils and lubricants for preventive maintenance.

The strategy to revitalize Havana's urbanity and essential services also analyzed the epidemiological health situation, the availability of medicines, and electricity, among other services.

Regarding the sale of agricultural products, the responsibility of the four specialized companies in the territory, as well as organoponic and intensive gardens, was explained. Concerning the agricultural fairs, it was reported that this Saturday and Sunday, the goal is to triple the offer placed on display last weekend.