----- Original Message -----
From: "Andy Mensah" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2004 1:43 PM
Subject: [unioNews] Quick-fix will not heal an ailing Haiti
Feb 26 2004 08:02:35:000AM Business Day 1st Edition
<H3>Quick-fix will not heal an ailing Haiti</H3>
William Jones
<B><i>HAITI has slipped into crisis and possible civil war as it has
just about every decade or two since gaining independence from France
200 years ago. The problem for the international community,
especially the US, is not just finding a way out of the current mess
but also being able to impose a lasting solution to prevent having to
do it all over again later.</i></B>
Restoration of order and meeting desperate humanitarian needs must be
the priority. However, a longer range plan is needed, and the Bush
administration would be well advised, despite its pressing
commitments elsewhere, to consult seriously with those who know Haiti
to come up with such a strategy.
Haiti's problems are deep and systemic. They go well beyond merely
having elections and training the constabulary.
<B>In a society where the synonym for political opposition is exile
the political structure must be overhauled to impose strict electoral
rules. This must be done by Haitians, but should be overseen by
international experts under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN).
Second, the exodus of well-educated Haitians must be stopped. The
university in Port au Prince has turned out medical doctors and other
graduates for generations, but they do not return from studying
abroad or they leave, mostly because they fear for their lives.</B>
The misguided threats of the present administration to redistribute
wealth must stop. A legal code favouring capital investment should be
drawn up as soon as possible by trained professionals, not by
politicians. Its implementation should be overseen by international
monitors to ensure it is not thwarted by vested interests.
Haiti's highly intelligent and willing workforce should be used in
productive endeavours. The old Marxist notions of class warfare and
hostility to business still popular in Haiti have no place in the
modern world. Foreign investment must be encouraged.
Finally, a political solution must encompass long-range monitoring of
government ministries by foreign experts, including from the UN and
World Bank. As a condition for international support, any Haitian
government emerging from the crisis must consent to outside
assistance to ensure vital ministries are run efficiently.
To develop a culture commensurate with international norms of
management and behaviour will take a long time. Haitian political and
economic leaders must accept it is in their interests to get in step
with the international community, and this can be accomplished only
by overcoming traditional, destructive patterns of behaviour.
Simply pouring foreign aid into Haiti will not work. Unless there is
continuity and modernisation, foreign aid will be merely a bandage.
Given Haitian history and culture, humanitarian assistance and
military force in this current crisis will simply go the way of past
failed efforts. It is time to stop the perpetual round of crises. The
Haitian people deserve a break from debilitating upheavals.
Time is running out, and planning should begin now. It is not enough
to gain commitment from the present regime to work with the
opposition and hold elections. Only a multifaceted plan prepared and
implemented by experts can break Haiti free of its destructive,
violent past.
***
Jones is a former US ambassador to Haiti under the Carter
administration, and is currently ambassador in residence at Hampden-
Sydney College, Virginia.
Copyright © 2004 BDFM Publishers (Pty) Ltd
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QUOTATION:
"All of us may not live to see the higher accomplishments of an African
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within another generation"
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Marcus Mosiah Garvey <i>(1887 - 1940)</i></A></html>
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