MEDIA WATCH: Cuba puts clamps on businesses

CUBA’S new “booming” economy, fired up by the influx of US visitors had the brakes applied this week as the government clamped down on permits for small businesses

The regime announced that it is putting an indefinite stop on permits needed to open most small businesses.

The measure will hurt self-employed Cubans despite the government’s claim that the new regulations of independent workers will improve economic and labor conditions on the island,  reports PanAm Post.

People looking to obtain a permit or license required for working as a private contractor, real estate agent, sports instructor, tailor, party organizers or wedding planner, among other things, will no longer be able to do so.

Currently an estimated 567,982 Cubans are self-employed — or twelve percent of the island’s five-million workforce.

As part of the changes, many of them, most notably those working in the real estate industry focused on tourism, will also be required to create a bank account with “fiscal regulations.”