Haiti: Ain't Learned a Thang
Crispus blog
The global community has pledged $1 billion to help the country promote democracy and economic recovery. Donors and Haitian officials alike have vowed to learn from past mistakes. Donors blame past failures on themselves, while Haitian officials attribute it mostly to poor government under ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
Two things jump out at me. Didn't Haiti already have a democracy before USA, France, and Canada got into the mix this year? Hardly a fantastic one (those 2000 parliamentary elections were suspect), but Haitians should've decided, via elections, whether Jean-Bertrand Aristide should exit the presidency.
Two, the real blame goes to several areas: no free-market reforms, virtually no civil society, and rampant corruption. Haiti is a basket case. Its troubles precede Aristide by about 200 years. Rule of law is minimal, incentives to innovate virtually nil. This $1 billion will be totally wasted or siphoned off into somebody's Swiss bank account.
Had donors really learned from the past, they would forgo government foreign aid. Instead, they would be pushing for lower trade barriers - both in Haiti and in their countries so there is a more equitable relationship. No more giver and givee, which reinforces dependency. Focus on what Haiti's competitive advantages - which is agriculture, tourism potential, and cheap unskilled labor - and go from there. Haiti's workers get more work, Western consumers get lower prices. Win-win. This is how China and India have rip-roaring economic and income growth.
I do agree with one quote in the article, "The time has come for this one-way contribution to stop," says Leonce Thelusma, former minister of economy of Haiti now living in Florida."The time has come for Haiti to offer advantages to the diaspora." Yes, instead of waiting for USA's Congressional Black Caucus to lead the way to bail it out of its mess.
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