Saturday, March 17, 2012

ARTICLE - CUBA MECHANICS

AFTER THE CUBAN DOCTORS, THE CUBAN MECHANICS!
(Haiti Libre) -

On Friday, March 16, 2012, President Michel Martelly, welcomed the signing at the National Palace, of three technical assistance agreements between the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Laurent Lamothe and his Cuban counterpart, Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla. The Head of State took this opportunity to thank the Cuban Government for their efforts in the context of the strengthening of ties of friendship and solidarity that exist between the two peoples, but especially for this new cooperation between the two countries.

Following the signing of the bilateral cooperation, Chancellor Lamothe explained, "...these are very important agreements for Haiti. They are mainly technical assistance agreements. Concretely, Cuba will send 34 technicians, who will be assigned to the repair of the "Dignité" buses, trucks of the SMCRS (Metropolitan Solid Waste Collection Agency), and of equipment of the CNE (National Center of Equipments).

These 34 technicians will help us, because we have a serious problem. We have a lot of equipment that is down. When the President of the Republic made his visit to Cuba, we had announced on his return, that we would sign a technical partnership agreement, and we have kept our promise today.

These agreements will allow the Director of SMCRS to have his entire fleet of vehicles available for garbage pick-up. I remember when I had spoken to the Director of SMCRS, I asked how many trucks he had. Of 74 trucks there were 11 trucks that worked... Today there are 30. This means that there are always 44 trucks that are out of order, which means that the garbage can not be picked up throughout the city, and there are problems in the city. We want that all waste is collected, and that the city is clean, and that's why we have signed a contract for technical assistance, to help 'restart' the out of order trucks.

We know that the State has made a huge investment in the heavy equipment sector, to make roads... so again, the Cuban technical assistance will enable us to repair the equipment, purchase spare parts, so that new roads can be made... and that the CNE can function as intended.

We know that the President of the Republic stated that school transport is free. There are 229 'Dignité' buses. Of these, there are buses that do not work [nearly 15%], which have problems with parts and service. With the Cuban cooperation, we will solve this problem. There are 34 buses that are down right now..."

The Cuban Chancellor took the opportunity to invite all countries of the international community to make a special effort for Haiti. "Major donors can do much more for Haiti, and should do"; expressing the hope that donors keep their promises to provide the resources necessary to rebuild the country. Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla reiterated "the commitment and friendship" of the authorities in Havana to Haiti, noting that such support, is not "grants or promises", but that Cuba has shared what it has with Haiti.

For his part, Laurent Lamothe thanked the Cuban Government, for the signing of these agreements, and the Cuban expertise to repair the equipment of the CNE, SMCRS and of the bus company "Dignité".

No comments: