Palmares Sancti Spíritus has recovered 12 facilities in the province through alliances with new economic actors

The Palmares Sancti Spíritus Branch has recovered 12 facilities in the province through alliances with new economic actors, a process that is already having a direct impact on communities by revitalizing services and spaces for social use.

Juan Carlos Sala Fariñas, director of the branch, said the so-called cooperadas constitute one of the alternatives the entity uses to take advantage of existing capacities while generating opportunities for linkages with the private and state sectors.

“The facilities we are talking about, which are operating today under this modality of partnered services, were facilities that had been stalled a bit over time. First, because of the distance from the municipalities, because of the fuel factor that made it increasingly impossible for us to reach these facilities, and because of access to resources as such,” Sala Fariñas said.

“Today these facilities we are talking about have gone from being among the most lagging units to the leading units of the branch. Today we offer renewed products, products highly accepted by customers, products with energy sovereignty—though not in 100% of the facilities. We took the first steps with these facilities. Today they are units, as I was saying, totally renewed, both in image and in gastronomic offerings, as well as in service quality.”

Palmares currently has 43 establishments distributed across six of the eight Sancti Spíritus municipalities, so expanding these alliances helps put facilities and services into operation in different territories as part of the measures announced by the Government.

Under the partnership model, non-state management forms guarantee the resources for sale in the facilities. Sala Fariñas said the branch has taken as a premise in these negotiations that it keeps its own workers first, as they are the personnel who operate the facilities and are more qualified.

“We retain a level of—that is, we assume a level of expense, let’s say, depreciation of tangible fixed assets; the workers’ wages are also covered by us. And the population, as I was saying, is grateful because the facilities have totally changed,” he said.

The process continues in Sancti Spíritus, where there are now applications from new economic actors interested in establishing cooperadas with Palmares, opening the possibility of recovering other facilities.

“We already have twelve facilities operating under that modality in the province, but we have a group of more units that are still in a process of reconversion—that is, improving their image, improving services—and they will soon open their doors for that purpose,” Sala Fariñas said.

“Here in the capital municipality, Díaz, La Vallita, is in a remodeling process. El Liana is also in this process. Recently, Café Real reopened its doors—that is, it resumed its services also under this modality. Dinospisa, which is already operational, and DiTú Sancti Spíritus.”

Asked whether the establishments accept transfers, Sala Fariñas said: “All payment gateways, all forms of payment, are accepted in all the facilities that are both under this partnered service and in our own administration facilities.”