The international community has a dismal track record to date in Haiti. More than $14 billion in aid money has been poured into the country over the past two decades, with little to show for it (for additional information see: http://solutionshaiti.blogspot.com/2007/01/international-aid-debacle-how-to-get.html). Haitian leaders, most notably Presidents Duvalier and Aristide, and their corrupt cronies have pilfered much of the country's funds. The international community has never demanded accountability from the Haitian leadership or developed a system of transparency for the deployment of aid funds. It is obvious that the strategies and approaches that have been adopted over the past several decades in Haiti have not worked. It is time for some new, fresh thinking on how to move forward. But usurping Haiti's national sovereignty is not the kind of fresh thinking that Haitians need. It is merely subversive and will be viewed as such by the Haitian people (remember them?).
The Haitian people have as much skepticism about the international community as the international community has about the Haitian Government. The limited inclusion of Haitian input into the upcoming donors conference only heightens that skepticism. They have heard the promises for decades and have seen few results of those promises. And now the folks in charge of raising the money for recovery appear to be lined up to decide who gets the money. Already there are stories leaking out about no-bid contracts awarded to firms with strong political ties. To win the hearts and minds and support of the Haitian people, reconstruction must open and transparent and must have a Haitian face. And, to be successful, we must have the support of the people.
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Therefore, the development of a legitimate reconstruction plan must strike a balance among all these competing dynamics. It must preserve Haiti's sovereignty while addressing the critical shortcomings of the Haitian Government and winning hearts and minds of the people. Some observers have advocated the organization of a Haiti Reconstruction Authority (HRA). If established correctly, such an Authority seems to be a reasonable approach to striking this delicate balance while providing the needed coordination and direction. The Prime Minister of Haiti has the constitutional authority to convene an HRA. The HRA could be empowered to oversee all aspects of reconstruction while leaving the Preval Administration in tact through the end of his term in November 2010. As he has announced that he will not seek reelection at the end of his term, in accordance with the constitution; therefore, a Supreme Court Justice will be appointed as the acting and temporary President until elections can be convened.
To be most effective, the HRA should essentially operate as a public-private partnership with members of the international business and government community, NGOs, Haitian business community, Haitian government, and Haitian Diaspora. The leadership of the HRA, however, should come from the Haitian community. The HRA should be empowered to set the national priorities and vet the myriad proposals for the best ideas.
Then a clear process should be laid out for how the HRA will proceed and how it will function. The HRA should begin by outlining a clear, unified vision for Haiti over the next five, ten and twenty years. The Diaspora community has started to dub this "Vision 2020". The myriad plans that have been already developed should then be reviewed for how they advance and support the overall vision and a formal reconstruction plan should be developed and agreed upon. From there, we can move forward with developing and launching an open, transparent system to draft and review RFPs and award contracts. The Haitian Reconstruction Authority will also need to closely monitor the implementation of plans and projects.
There have been many arguments made against such a vision, but the central theme of the detractors is that there are not enough qualified Haitians to manage and guide this process. This argument is categorically false. There are more than enough talented, educated and competent Haitians to launch and oversee a massive reconstruction project. Many reside overseas now after having been driven out of the country due to systemic corruption and instability over the past few decades. With those dynamics off the table, the Haitian Diaspora are willing and anxious to step up and help their colleagues in-country rebuild. I have not yet spoken to a member of the Diaspora community that is not willing to return to Haiti. Combined with strong business leaders in Haiti, I am confident that there exists enough Haitian bandwidth to lead this initiative with the support of the international community. The key word is support and not leadership.
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