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FROM
CUBA
Government denies private repairmen access
to faulty appliances
HAVANA, September 12 (www.cubanet.org)
- The Commerce Department has destroyed
dozens of faulty refrigerators, televisions
sets, washing machines and air conditioners
rather than permit them to be sold, repaired
and marketed by private sector entrepreneurs,
according to an eye witness.
Because of defects, the appliances, all
imported, were removed from stores which
sell merchandise for foreign currency and
taken to an area in Wajay, on the outskirts
of Havana, and impacted by heavy equipment
for their value as recycled metal.
"The air smelled of refrigeration
gas," said the eye witness, who saw
the destruction last month.
He said he was told that Interior Commerce
Minister Bárbara Castillo had ordered
the destruction rather than allowing the
appliances to be sold at reduced prices
as defects. He said this would prevent private
repairmen from repairing the appliances
and re-selling them, actions like those
that have led to a current government crackdown
on private initiative.
Versión
original en español
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