-DATE-
19881029
-YEAR-
1988
-DOCUMENT_TYPE-
REPORT
-AUTHOR-
F.CASTRO
-HEADLINE-
CASTRO VIEWS MEDICAL EQUIPMENT FACTORY
-PLACE-
HAVANA CITY
-SOURCE-
HAVANA TELEVISION SVC
-REPORT_NBR-
FBIS
-REPORT_DATE-
19881031
-TEXT-
Views Medical Equipment Factory

FL2910025188 Havana Television Service in Spanish 0100 GMT 29 Oct 88

[Excerpts] Commander in Chief Fidel Castro, first secretary of the PCC and
president of the Councils of State and Ministers, spoke today at the
inauguration of Havana City's medical equipment factory.  Before the
ceremony.  Fidel had a tour of the facilities and spoke with the workers.

[Begin Castro recording] The vast majority of this medical equipment must
be purchased from capitalist countries and we have to spend convertible
currency.  Just by importing the components, a great deal of money is
saved.  Of course, as we produce more components--mechanical components or
electronic components--our expenditures on imported components will be
reduced.

Not only can this factory supply our country with the principal
equipment--very important health care equipment--it could even be capable
of exporting part of its production to other countries. [end recording]
[passage omitted including indistinct portion] [Castro is seen walking
through the factory talking to workers and pointing to machinery]

[Begin recording] [Reporter] Just recently, we toured, with a television
crew, the bus factory in Guanajai and the railroad car factory in
Cardenas.  We anticipate a visit to the rolling mills in Las Tunas, and
today we are here.  We want to know your opinion concerning developments in
the steel industry.

[Castro] Well, just a few days ago we had a meeting with 59 factories, the
ones here in Havana City and Havana Province, which are the ones we are
having the cost problems with.  We don't have as many problems with other
steel factories in the region, because competition is too great here for
the work force.

Also, all the workshops were old.  We were putting in machines and
developing an industry that didn't exist in these workshops.  There can't
be development without a mechanical industry, economic or social
development.  Likewise, there can't be development without construction or
development in the energy sector.  we analyzed these problems for 2 entire
days.  I, who am an optimist, have a good outlook on all of this because of
all the studies that we're doing in administration and construction, and
also because of the measures we are taking.  First we visited 97
industries, and then we got together with 59, mainly in the capital.  [end
recording]
-END-