ARTICLE - PATCHING HUMPTY DUMPTY

HAITI'S RECONSTRUCTION STUMBLES THROUGH POLITICAL QUAGMIRE
(Toronto Star) - By Olivia Ward, Foreign Affairs Reporter

Putting Haiti together after its epic earthquake was always going to be as challenging as patching up Humpty Dumpty.

But the body responsible for implementing the Haitian government’s plan for reconstruction and development is also on shaky ground, as the political situation worsens and Haitian frustration escalates with the time it is taking to clear rubble, repair houses and remove people from the tent cities and flimsy shelters that are making daily life miserable and dangerous.

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission — a Haitian and international partnership including Canada — is headed by former U.S. president Bill Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. It has provided food, water and basic accommodations to millions of survivors. But it has been criticized by Haitians and international organizations for lagging on restoring normality to hungry, jobless and deeply traumatized people.

The unresolved presidential election, widely decried as unfair, has added another layer of instability. As has the abrupt, mystery-shrouded return of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. And with ousted, but still popular former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide announcing he is ready to return after six years of exile, experts warn that the pace of reconstruction could grind still slower if the government is further undermined.

“Sustained support from the international community, including the United States, requires a credible process that represents the will of the Haitian people, as expressed by their votes,” U.S. ambassador Susan Rice told the UN Security Council Thursday.

Meanwhile, estimates show that only 20 per cent of the aid pledges made at a 2010 donor conference on rebuilding Haiti have been honoured.

“There’s no question that this kind of uncertainty has essentially hit the pause button on almost all long-term international (aid) commitments for Haiti’s reconstruction,” says Mark Schneider, a senior vice-president of the International Crisis Group. “Most donor governments are in wait-and-see mode.”

That, says Larry Birns, director of the Washington-based Council on Hemispheric Affairs, isn’t helped when “the country is essentially without a leader. (President René) Préval has become a non-starter.”

But even those who are sharply critical of Préval’s government — which blocked Aristide’s popular Lavalas party from elections — say that folding up the rebuilding process, or having the international community take over in the political hiatus, is not an option.

“The ideal scenario would be to cancel the elections and hold proper ones with Lavalas allowed to participate,” says Montreal activist Yves Engler, co-author of Canada in Haiti. “The Préval government is illegitimate. But it’s more legitimate than having the (rebuilding) run by Bill Clinton.”

Préval, a mild-mannered former ally of Aristide, lost credibility with Haitians when he failed to show inspiring leadership in the aftermath of the earthquake — a conclusion that recently released WikiLeaks cables show was shared by U.S. diplomats.

The cables described Préval as lacking “the strong, consistent leadership” that Haiti’s crisis demanded. He was skeptical about the international community’s commitment to his government’s goals but “often unable to articulate exactly what he wants — except in the broadest of terms.”

The international charity Oxfam says impressive efforts were nevertheless made in providing emergency relief that saved “countless lives.” But its recent report on reconstruction progress one year after the earthquake says there are vital elements missing from rebuilding plans, including strong leadership, co-ordination and an employment program to put Haitians to work in their own country.

“We see projects approved that fit into the broad national framework,” says Robert Fox, executive director of Oxfam Canada. “But it’s at the level of detailed thinking about sequencing, and the relationship between (projects) that is needed. It’s not just a case of what can be done, but who can do it. That means, for instance, a job creation strategy. Reconstruction needs carpenters, plumbers and masons. It’s not rocket science that you can train those people in about six months.”

And he said, “The government should have complete authority to make those decisions – and if it made them it would have more authority. It has the opportunity to frame itself as a government of national reconstruction, and rise above the political paralysis. What Haitian would not support clearing rubble and rebuilding?”