A Consultative Group meeting cosponsored by the Bank and Haitian government was held on April 2-4 in Port-au-Prince to find ways to accelerate the pace of development programs. Haiti is the Western hemisphere's poorest country. Despite donors committing about $2 billion in highly concessional loans and grants for 1995-99, economic recovery has been painfully slow. President Preval, Prime Minister Smarth, and Shahid Javed Burki,Bank vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean, presidedover the meeting, which, in an innovative first, was also attended by Haitian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private sector representatives, the media and members of parliament. Many participants said they hoped that the dialogue begun at this meeting between social activists, the private sector, politicians and the government would continue in a more systematic form.  Donors commended recent steps taken by the Haitian government to reduce poverty, achieve market reforms, and speed up development in sectors such as agriculture, education and health; and they encouraged Haiti's parliament to take action on legislation to enable several key programs to begin.
NGOs emphasized the participation of local people at all stagesof project design and implementation in order to reduce poverty.Private sector representatives stressed the need to improve the legal and institutional environment for investment, and emphasized public safety and law and order as top concerns. The government's Commission on Public Enterprise Reform (CMEP)showed rapid progress in tackling the problem of inefficient state-runbusinesses. Unprofitable state-owned enterprises are being reformedbecause they don't improve the lives of the poor and are a drainon scarce government resources. The state-owned electricity company,for example, consistently delivers services to Port-au-Prince'swealthier neighborhoods, and never to rural areas, where the mostof the poor live; yet, it consumes 8 percent of the country'stax revenues in government subsidies. CMEP has established a timetablefor modernizing nine highly inefficient public enterprises througheither concessions, joint ventures or management contracts andhas decided how to involve the private sector in the cement factory,the flour mill, the port, and the airport. The Bank and HaitiThe Bank is focusing its support for the Haitian government inthree priority areas: immediate poverty reduction, rebuildingthe public sector, and laying the foundation for sustainable growth.To help the government reduce poverty and improve the welfareof all Haitians, the Bank has geared more than two-thirds of itsprograms toward directly and quickly assisting the poor and improvingsocial services. The World Bank's approach to development in Haiti is exemplifiedby its support for the renewal of La Saline, a sprawling slumarea of dwellings, open air markets and warehouses adjacent tothe port area of Port-au-Prince. Lacking basic sanitation andother services, residents lived and worked amidst unpaved streets,stagnant open sewers, and accumulated garbage and human wastethat quickly became quagmires in the rainy season. Haiti at a glancePopulation 7.2 million GNP per capita $250 GNP $1.8 billion GNP growth -1.3% (1970-95) Life expectancy 57 years Illiteracy rate 47 % (population age 15+) * all estimates for 1995 except GNP growth In 1996, a government team began discussions with the local communityon ways to clean and improve the area. After extensive talks,work began on a program to drain open sewers and rebuild enclosedsewer drains, clean and repave streets, and create open air marketswith safe and adequate facilities for merchants. The project,which enlists local contractors and laborers, has created approximately750 jobs, including training in marketable managerial and vocationalskills for young Haitians. In informal surveys, residents haveshown near universal satisfaction with the project.For more information,call Geoff Bergen, (1-202) 458-5225, fax 522-0321, or e-mail gbergen@worldbank.org. |
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