Haiti: A History of Corruption and Government Instability

revelation Sam 10 Avr 2010 - 8:47

Saturday, April 10, 2010
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the United Nations was understandably overwhelmed with the pledge of $9.9 billion over three years from donors for the rebuilding of earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The monetary commitment went “far beyond expectations,” Ban said, noting that the $9.9 billion includes pledges of $5.3 billion from governments and international partners for the first 24 months of reconstruction.
By any measure, it is an historic display of generosity.

But with that comes a sobering reality: Haiti, the world’s poorest nation, has a history of corruption and government instability. Hence the question: Will the money be squandered?

The two-dozen member Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, led by Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, has been given the task of making sure that the money is spent where it is needed the most — to rebuild schools, hospitals, courthouses and neighborhoods. They were destroyed when the magnitude-7 earthquake shook the island nation to such an extent that the capital, Port-au-Prince, was virtually flattened.

“Let us dream of a new Haiti whose fate lies in a new project for a society without exclusion, which has overcome hunger, in which all have access to secure shelter ... (and their) health needs provided,” President Rene Preval told diplomats and ministers from more than 130 countries meeting to discuss aid to Haiti.

But the new nation envisioned by the world community will not become a reality unless there is an acknowledgement that the widespread hunger, the lack of secure housing and the unmet health needs are largely the result of government corruption.

Detailed the plans
Haiti’s government has detailed its plans for the money in a 55-page rebuilding blueprint that lays out the interim reconstruction committee. It includes requests for $350 million in direct budget support to the government, which the top U.N. envoy in Haiti has said is crucial for the country’s progress.
But there must be a tight rein on that money. Impoverished Haitians, many still living in tents and other makeshift shelters, will not remain silent if government officials are seen to be living the good life in the midst of all the squalor and misery.

The money going to the government must be used to revive the agencies that are necessary to provide help to the people. Bureaucrats must be put on notice that corruption will not be tolerated.

Indeed, the reason more than 217,000 Haitians were killed and 1.3 million were left homeless was the absence of an effective disaster response program and the lack of building codes that would have prevented structures from crumbling.

It is instructive that an even more powerful earthquake struck Chile — 8.8-magnitude — and less than 1,000 were killed. This week, another powerful earthquake hit northern Mexico and the death toll was low. Damage was also contained.

As the government in Port-au-Prince, along with the United States and other countries that have pledge billions of dollars, look to the future, there are lessons to be learned.

As the Associated Press noted in a story comparing the natural disasters in Chile and Haiti, there are several reasons why Chile emerged in better shape: The country is wealthier, was better prepared for an earthquake, has strict building codes that ensure structures will largely withstand nature’s fury, has a robust emergency response system and has a long history of handling seismic catastrophes.
There is enough expertise around the world to ensure that Haiti will never again fall victim to nature’s fury or man’s venality. http://www.vindy.com/news/2010/apr/10/opinion-a-tight-rein-is-demanded-on-bill/