×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

‘Zimbabwe can learn from Cuba in resisting sanctions’

Politics
ZIMBABWE can learn from Cuba which survived for over half a century under comprehensive sanctions from the most powerful countries in the world,

ZIMBABWE can learn from Cuba which survived for over half a century under comprehensive sanctions from the most powerful countries in the world, the country’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Elio Savin Oliva has said.

EVERSON MUSHAVA Chief Reporter

He said Cuba has managed to plan its economy and allocate national resources to key issues using a socialist approach to make sure that everyone benefited.

Oliva said, unlike capitalism that has created wealthy billionaires, Cuba’s socialism introduced by retired president Fidel Castro had worked well for the Cubans who had managed to survive for more than half a century without United States aid.

“Cuba has a planned economy. It is not a market-driven economy. The government plans and allocate resources. We get loans from friendly countries, but we don’t have access to financial support from monetary institution,” Oliva told journalists recently.

“It is the unity of the people and confidence in the leadership that has taken us to where we are. Socialism has been working well for us, and we are in a process of improving it.”

Zimbabwe, like Cuba, has been under United States sanctions for the past decade due to “deteriorating human rights record” under President Robert Mugabe’s rule.

The West says there are no sanctions on Zimbabwe, but restrictive measures on Mugabe and his close associates.

Unlike Cuba, Zimbabwe has vast mineral resources which observers say in the absence of corruption could have helped the cash-strapped southern African country out of its economic quagmire.

Oliva said the 11 million-populated island now under the leadership of Fidel’s younger brother Raul, had survived through tourism, exporting of skills and nickel exports.

“We don’t have millionaires in Cuba. We have managed to control corruption. We have managed to raise money through exporting of skills generated through a vibrant educational system.

The ambassador said education, from Grade 1 to doctorate level, was free while health was a human rights issue.

“You can imagine the burden on government. Government should see to it that every pupil has a desk, books, and teachers and so on.

Through this, we have produced access labour which we export to other countries. We offer scholarships to many people across the globe to learn in Cuba for free. The literacy rate in Cuba is 100%. We have helped other countries like Bolivia and Nigeria to improve in its literacy,” Oliva said.

Cuba today has the highest doctor to patient ratio of one doctor to 137 patients, according to Oliva.

“Every part of the country is accessed by doctors. Cuba has the lowest child mortality rate. The life expectancy is 70 years and 81 years per women,” he said.

“Even the death of a child is a State problem because a child will be looked after while it is still pregnancy.

“We have doctors in more than 70 countries across the world. We have 11 000 doctors in Brazil alone and many more in other countries. The countries will pay for the doctors.”

Cuba has a number of doctors in Zimbabwe, but Oliva said they were only helping a friend for free since Mugabe’s government cannot afford to pay them.

He said Zimbabwe could also learn a lot from the former Spanish colony in the areas of science and research, agriculture and tourism.