Chairman of the Association of Haitian Economists questions the ability of industrial zones to assist in the development of Haiti and regrets that the implementation of the plan for downtown Port-au-Prince has been entrusted to a foreign firm
This is not the public to whom Mrs. Clinton should have addressed herself, lamented Mr. Labossiere, following more than eight months of waiting and misery in tents torn and smelly, but rather donors that pledged more than $10 billion on March 31 in New York City but have so far disbursed very little of that. Mrs. Clinton has missed another opportunity to ask these donors to make more efforts to meet their commitments to Haiti, he said, recalling that less than 10% of pledged funds have been disbursed so far. This has kept the promised and expected reconstruction sitting idle.
Laboissiere believes that the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) present in Haiti will absorb much of the assistance to be given. He points out that NGO interventions have never helped to develop a country.
Regarding the establishment of industrial zones, Labossiere believes this is a good thing. But he notes that plans do not call for enterprises that will process local materials and resources. Instead, they will do labour-intensive, assembly work. Such entreprises will offer a few thousand jobs, to be sure, but these are peripheral jobs that cannot guarantee the development of Haiti, he says.
Port-au-Prince, September 23, 2010 - (AHP) - The president of the Haitian Association of Economists, Eddy Labossière, said late Thursday that implementing the plan of downtown Port-au-Prince has been entrusted to a British firm rather than a business in Haiti. A $295,000 contract was signed for this purpose earlier this week between government and the Prince Charles Foundation as part of the reconstruction of the Lower City devastated by the earthquake of January 12. The Prince Charles Foundation will provide proposals on the spatial organization of the perimeter, which has been declared a public utility.
Reconstruction of Haiti must take into account the historical and cultural dimensions, however, believes Labossiere, doubting that a foreign company is able to consider these factors.
He also criticized recent statements by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the Haitian people to exercise patience in the reconstruciton effort, saying that those who expect immediate results go astray.
This is not the public to whom Mrs. Clinton should have addressed herself, lamented Mr. Labossiere, following more than eight months of waiting and misery in tents torn and smelly, but rather donors that pledged more than $10 billion on March 31 in New York City but have so far disbursed very little of that. Mrs. Clinton has missed another opportunity to ask these donors to make more efforts to meet their commitments to Haiti, he said, recalling that less than 10% of pledged funds have been disbursed so far. This has kept the promised and expected reconstruction sitting idle.
Laboissiere believes that the Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) present in Haiti will absorb much of the assistance to be given. He points out that NGO interventions have never helped to develop a country.
Regarding the establishment of industrial zones, Labossiere believes this is a good thing. But he notes that plans do not call for enterprises that will process local materials and resources. Instead, they will do labour-intensive, assembly work. Such entreprises will offer a few thousand jobs, to be sure, but these are peripheral jobs that cannot guarantee the development of Haiti, he says.