Cuba Opens Doors For Self-Employment, Lifting Private Enterprise Restrictions - Government

MEXICO CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 07th February, 2021) Cuba is authorizing private activity in most sectors, lifting self-employment restrictions, Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister Alejandro Gil Fernandez said.

"The Council of Ministers has approved the improvement and expansion of self-employment, which, along with streamlining the country's monetary system, is an important step towards increasing employment," Fernandez wrote on Twitter.

The announcement came after the Friday meeting of the Council of Ministers. The government said on Saturday that the previous list of 127 authorized activities for private work had been eliminated.

Out of the more than 2,000 occupations for self-employed individuals recognized in the National Classification of Economic Activity, only 124 are now partially or completely limited.

The government is yet to release the list of restricted occupations, but it is expected to cover defense, education, health, media and telecommunications activities.

According to Cuban government figures, over 600,000 people, or 13 percent of the country's workforce, are employed in the private sector in Cuba.