What Is The Haitian Plan For Development?

There are plenty of development models that are out there. You can look to the African nations and the Asians nations as examples for development. Businesses need a stable environment to grow and make a profit > People need to benefit from business activity (i.e. good education, healthcare, and a decent way of living...) > Governments need taxes to pay for services and creating a stable environment for businesses to thrive. Countries with great economies have a balance. What can Haiti do to create a good environment for development?

The problem with Haiti is not the international community but Haitians. Haiti does not have the resources to manage its own affairs. There has been a brain flight from the country since the 60s. The country needs the international community to help build its institutions. I don't see that as a loss of sovereignty, it's the reality of Haiti.

Haiti has been mismanaged since independence because you have different clicks of Haitians looking out for their own interest with some collusion with international actors. Haitians must change their ways before Haiti will ever change. You can not blame everything on the international community. If Haitians were thinking of the country after the earthquake they would have done the following immediately:

1) Decentralization - appoint interim governors for each departments. Have direct elections for the post at the end of the year. This post would help with the flow of aid to the people. This post would also help coordinate aid efforts to the cities and the country side, and also help with resettlement of migrants. Coordinate a strategy for aid, needs, for the cities and the provinces. Also help put together a development model for the department.

2) Amend the constitution - to include dual citizenship. This is to reverse the brain drain. Also include land reform to help with business activity. Businesses should be able to buy/sell assets in an easy way like some of the thriving economies in the region. Remove articles that make the government inefficient. Law makers make laws with some oversight powers. The Executive branch run the government, they should have the power to hire and fire members of their cabinets. The Judiciary is the referee. If you don’t agree with something sue, and let the judiciary decide. The judiciary should be independent with its own budget.

3) Encourage private investment by enacting laws that streamline business processes, taxes, starting and closing a business, financing, etc... Work on improving your business ranking on:

http://www.doingbusiness.org/exploreeconomies/?economyid=85

Try to be the best in the region and in the world. There has been some improvement in this area. Currently Haiti ranks 151 out of 180 countries but much work needs to be done.

4) Enacted a new budgetary framework that does not rely on aid for support. Reduce the size of the government. Haiti should live on what it makes. There is no need to have 3 senators for each department. Take it down to 18 senators and maybe 50 deputies. Give the legislators a stipend for transportation. It does not make sense for law makers to be running around PaP in Jeeps. Give them a monthly stipend and have them take care of their own transportation need. The people in the government must have a stake in Haiti’s survival. They must live and understand the life of ordinary Haitians. You are in the government to serve the people. This is not a path to financial freedom. Districs for deputies should be drawn based on population size. We should have 2-3 senators elected from the Diaspora. We should also have the Diaspora represented on the Supreme Court. This would allow for more knowledge transfer.

I have more ideas that the Haitian government can start doing immediately, if they were willing. They don’t need $ billions to do these things or international help/resources; these are things they can do themselves. When the international community sees Haitians dragging their feet on these things it frustrates them and makes them wonder if they are serious. Patience is running thin.

These are not neo liberal ideas or ideas that will take away Haitian sovereignty, or international interference, or some conspiracy to keep Haitians enslaved. These are common sense, structural changes that’s needed to be competive and make the country better. There are a lot of countries that had to make these hard and difficult changes. You can see the results; a lot of them now have thriving economies.