The Mercedes-Benz subsidiary in Cuba will provide the vehicles and maintenance; the State, the doctors
14ymedio, Havana, 5 April 2024 — The Mercedes-Benz distributor in Cuba, MCV Comercial S.A., agreed on Thursday to an unprecedented collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health for the “experimental use” of 15 ambulances. The company – a mixed entity with links to Transport – expects that, as part of this public-private partnership, Health will complement” the vehicle service with a “crew of doctors.”
The announcement, very discreet, was made during the International Transport and Logistics Fair in Havana, and the government disseminated photos of the signing of the agreement, which took place under the watchful eye of the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Dávila. The MCV Comercial website celebrated the announcement and revealed that state-owned Taxi Cuba and Viazul will also collaborate in the project.
They will start from this initial experience in Havana, they allege, to “modify the way ambulances are managed” in Cuba
The joint project represents the transfer to a business entity of a service that has been in the hands of Public Health. They will start from this initial experience in Havana, they allege, to “modify the way ambulances are managed” in Cuba. “As it is consolidated, it will be extended to other provinces,” they say. MCV will handle the “maintenance and driving of the vehicle,” and the staff will come from the hospitals in Havana.
The Cuban government spares no argument to praise the measure and notes that “this type of action is being promoted with the aim of making better use of what we have, improving management and making every investment last longer, with proper maintenance. Our people will get the resultng benefit.”
On the government website, several readers commented with irony. “That’s excellent,” said Carlos Luis Menéndez. “Maybe we don’t quite know what to do, but we should already be clear about what not to do!” The reader Otro Cubano Más mocked the signing and said that for the leaders, it is “better to ’innovate’ new mistakes.”
“And what do we owe this nonsense to? Will it make it easier to have a sales, post-warranty and maintenance-renewal contract for the service?” asked another reader about the alliance between MCV and Health. For others, the question is what type of entity the ambulance fleet will form: “Is it a mypyme (private company)?”
The image that Minister Dávila gave to international investors such as Mercedes-Benz and its branches in Cuba is that of a favorable panorama for the purchase and sale of vehicles and other businesses in the sector
The Transport and Logistics Fair was held at the Pabexpo fairgrounds in the midst of the fuel crisis that plagues Cuba, which the authorities blame for all the ills of the country, in addition to the long blackouts throughout the national territory. Despite that, the image that Minister Dávila gave to international investors such as Mercedes-Benz and its branches in Cuba is that of a favorable panorama for the purchase and sale of vehicles and other businesses in the sector.
The display of the Mercedes-Benz group, based in Germany, was well stocked with state-of-the-art vehicles that very few on the Island could afford. The company’s slogan hangs on the cars: “The best or nothing.” Cubans know very well which of the two options they’ll have.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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