14ymedio, Madrid, 28 November 2023 — For some reason, the plan to build with clay has not penetrated the Island. In the middle of the year, the authorities of the sector spent a long time explaining to the population the benefits of this material, in which the Island is rich, when it comes to building a home: “an economic, environmentally friendly and viable way,” they strongly recommended, while talking about the export of marble and cement to capture foreign exchange.
Five months later, the result is disappointing, and Deputy Prime Minister Ramiro Valdés Menéndez couldn’t hide his anger at the Minister of Construction, René Mesa Villafaña, when he noted that he was supposed to erect “floor, wall and ceiling elements” with these materials. “They were being raised. Where are they?” the commander scolded. “There are directions to build the ovens. There are plans delivered to the territories. Do they do it? They don’t do it. Why don’t they do it? Where is the discipline? Where is the control? There are directions and, simply, in the territory they are not executed.”
By the end of October, the plan had been fulfilled by just over half (54%), having built 13,300 dwellings in the country
The reprimand came in the middle of a meeting of Prime Minister Manuel Marrero with the local and state authorities to analyze the poor progress of the housing program that, once again, will fail miserably. By the end of October, the forecast had been fulfilled by just over half (54%), with 13,300 dwellings having been built in the country. The official press, in line with the conclusions of the meeting, admits that the main responsibility was the lack of steel and cement, but did not hesitate to distribute blame by attributing some to “the methods and ways of working.”
Dilaila Díaz Fernández, general director of materials of the Ministry of Construction, explained that to meet the needs of the Housing program, 83 million concrete blocks are needed per year, but in 2022 barely 39 million were reached, less than half, although it was “the best production” in the 12 years that the local production plan had been in operation.
In a country accustomed to worse results, it is no small matter that this year production has increased, producing four million more pieces, but this only covers 52% of what is needed. The resu
