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FROM
CUBA
Violations in retail establishments plentiful,
inspections reveal in Cuba
HAVANA, January 27 (www.cubanet.org) -
Government inspections of retail establishments
in Holguín province in December revealed
a widespread pattern of violations of established
rules.
Among the violations found: overpricing,
prices not posted as required, underweight
products, products not up to standards in
weight or quality, and price gouging involving
merchandise in short supply.
Inspectors detected pricing irregularities
in 45% of the 270 stores checked, imposing
332 fines exceeding 21,500 pesos, but many
here point out that the fines will not deter
the illegal activities. Rather, they say,
those implicated will simply extract more
money from buyers to make up the amounts
of the fines.
Back in September, authorities issued an
alert, saying that 36 major distribution
concerns did not have in place certified
accounting systems, leading to a lack of
financial controls.
The situation is not unique to Holguín
province, according to information available
from the Ministry of Internal Commerce.
The documents show that in spite of a campaign
started in 1998 meant to reinforce controls,
and despite the creation of agencies such
as the Directorate of Consumer Protection
and the Security and Protection Authority,
financial control is almost non-existent
in many cases, ultimately affecting consumers'
pocketbooks.
Ministry figures show that in the first
months of 2000, 556,000 establishments were
inspected, uncovering 1,700,000 violations,
almost half a million more than in 1998.
A total of 82,639 fines exceeded two million
pesos.
Versión
original en español
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