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#10: Ericq Pierre on the Situation in Haiti: Part 2
From: Max Blanchet <MaxBlanchet@worldnet.att.net>
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY
(For the complete report go to:
www.us.net/cip/Recent.html )
________________________________________________
Haiti: Thoughts on the present situation (Part Two)
by Ericq Pierre
Presented in Boston on May 30, 1999, at the invitation of the Centre
Francophone des Études Haïtiennes et Internationales (CEFREHI)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background
1.- In early May in Montreal, at the invitation of Initiatives Dé
mocratiques, I was able to share with Haitians living in Canada some of
my thoughts on the Haitian situation. My audience consisted mostly of
expatriate professionals who, however, remained pronouncedly interested
in everything relating to Haiti, as much economically and politically as
socially and institutionally. To be sure, these professionals subscribed
to divergent political views, but they all shared a very strong tie of
patriotism that life far from their native land had been unable to
weaken.
2.- I had warned my friends in Initiatives Démocratiques that in my
presentation I would not develop academic or philosophical ideas, but
would endeavor to ponder the specific challenges we, as Haitians, must
face in the twenty-first century. So I spoke of our poverty and
inequality, of the need to fight corruption, set up conflict-prevention
machinery and strengthen social negotiation. I explained that, if such
machinery had been available, most of the conflicts that had become
problems could have had outcomes beneficial to the country.
I addressed briefly the government reform program, the situation in
justice and education, the fate of the forty-sixth legislature,
disrespect for elected officials, etc. But I raised more questions than
I answered, the idea being to stir debate and draw conclusions from the
different views expressed.
Purposes of this second part
3.- My presentation today covers the second half of my reflections on
the situation in Haiti. The purpose will be no different from the one I
had in Montréal, but I will try to take my views a little further. As
you know, the situation is highly complex, and I have had to pick and
choose the subjects I would deal with, but in the discussions you may
consider any subject that interests you.
At first, therefore, I will return to the matter of poverty reduction
(this is actually an inexhaustible subject because of its diverse
facets), but will this time introduce a few elements that may be taken
into account in charting a social policy for it. In Montréal I cited
some economic aspects in particular. I will also offer a few
considerations on the future of the reforms launched by the government.
Then I will turn to other sensitive matters, notably the situation of
the National Police which, as you know, has been the target of all sorts
of criticism from grassroots organizations and some political activists.
4.- In my presentations I generally prefer to speak conversationally to
encourage dialogue among Haitians, among patriots who, in varying
degree, face the same problems. For when Haiti has problems one may
certainly question the leaders, who may or may not be doing everything
they should, but we should also question ourselves, because all
Haitians, whatever sector they belong to and whatever the extent of
their education, wealth and well-being, suffer to some degree from the
effects of those problems. So I expect that, when I have concluded my
presentation, exchanges and discussions will spring up that will enable
us to chart some paths to the future beyond whatever I myself propose.
5.- In so doing I would also like to encourage those interested in the
question of Haiti to try to understand properly what is going on, to
express their opinions, not to let themselves be intimidated by those
who think they know better than anyone what is best for Haiti or those
who would have us believe they have a monopoly on patriotism and on
grassroots sensitivity. A long time ago, I learned that there are four
ways to waste time: by doing nothing, by not doing what you have to, by
not doing it right or by doing it at the wrong time. I hope that after
our discussions here, no one will feel like they have wasted their time.
Two basic issues before we enter the twenty-first century
6.- The concerns I raised in Montreal, and which remain more topical
than ever, took the form of two basic questions:
Question one: Will Haiti take in the twenty-first century the measures
it was unable to take in the twentieth to provide education for all as
the foundation for equal opportunity and to fight poverty in the long
term?
Question two: Are we laying the foundations for a society that will be
able to offer every Haitian child opportunities for social, economic,
moral and spiritual growth?
Part of the answer lies in the strengthening of institutions
7.- We must seek the answers to these questions together. But I can
already tell you that, now that the transformation of Haitian society is
in full swing, some answers must be sought in the policies we adopt. If
we adopt policies that enable us to consolidate our institutions and
establish in the conduct of public affairs standards and procedures that
apply equally to all, we will be able to answer those two questions in
the affirmative. If we do not, you can imagine right now what is going
to happen in the twenty-first century.
8.- We must strive to institutionalize relationships and not to
personalize them. If, in the conduct of government, standards and
procedures are supplanted by personal relationships (or if we neglect to
define and apply those standards), we will never build sound
institutions. Similarly, if, every time a problem arises in society, or
there occurs a technical, financial, political, economic or
institutional problem, instead of seeking solutions in the established
standards and procedures the decision is left to the discretion of some
person (the division chief, the manager, the secretary of state, a
judge, a deputy, senator, minister, prime minister or the President),
that is, to someone who thinks he has an answer for everything, we will
find ourselves in the twenty-first century with a system which, though
disguised in equity, will be closer to cronyism and fascism that to the
democracy we claim to be building.
Allow me to recall at this point that one of the current definitions of
democracy is as "a form of social, political and economic organization
that gives individuals control over their personal and collective
destiny and in which the liberty of one persons ends where that of the
next one begins."
In our capacity to appreciate what we have
9.- The answers to these questions must also be sought in how we address
certain problems. The answer will be NO if we see poverty as destiny, if
we turn our backs on reforms on the pretext that they raise more
problems than they provide solutions, if we lose hope in the capacity of
Haitians to solve their own problems, if we stop regarding ourselves as
producers of wealth. The answer will be NO if we allow the social
infrastructure and service delivery systems to degrade further and take
no steps to reverse the present trend. The answer will be NO if we
persist in the bad habit of making no concessions in the quest for
solutions to our problems. My mother often said that many seek but deep
down do not want to find. So, if we enter into negotiations we must do
so for the purpose of obtaining concrete results. The best way to get
nothing is to decide at the outset to make no concessions whatever.
10.- But the answer will obviously be YES if we stop considering this
poverty as destiny and accept the fact that an enterprising, creative
people like the Haitians should not be identified primarily by the
visible poverty that afflicts them. The answer will be YES if we adopt
policies that allow investment in human capital and take account of the
fact that, as I said before, for the first time in its history our
country has a critical mass of men and women in all social strata who
have embraced the ideas of democracy, change and development.
In consolidation of the reforms already set in motion
11.- The answer is YES because, despite problems of every kind, an
extremely important step was taken in our country when we grasped the
need for reforms in all sectors and, as the saying goes, the hardest
step is very often the first one. Everybody knows that the reforms
undertaken are not perfect. But credit is due to all those who
understood the need to get these reforms started, even if at present the
leaders (yesterday's and today's) for a variety of reasons combining
emotional problems, states of mind and political calculations are not
all on the same wave-length.
Speaking for myself, regarding the initiative for the reforms, I want to
give credit to ex-President Aristide, who upon the return to
constitutional order sent out the signal for reform (among others, the
National Police was created under Aristide's presidency), to President
Préval, who opened his term of office on a platform of reforms, to
ex-Prime Minister Rosny Smarth, who in his General Policy Statement
embraced reforms, to the forty-sixth legislature, which before
foundering in immobility for political reasons, ratified certain laws in
support of those reforms.
12.- This is now history, and history cannot be changed. Indeed,
political division should not prevent us from giving credit where it is
due or from appreciating the reforms that the government has undertaken
in opening up of the economy, trying to generate an environment
favorable to the private sector, pondering policies to improve
infrastructure in the key sectors of energy, communications and
transportation, studying conditions favorable to development of the
financial sector, etc. Much remains to be done, to be sure, for reform
is a complex, time-consuming business. But we should appreciate what has
been done because the longer we take to carry out reforms, the more
difficult and the more costly they become to implement.
13.- We should also welcome the emergence of a new class of
businesspeople who evince a strong desire to distance themselves from,
and not be confused with, the traditional money-grubbing, mean-spirited
and corrupt elite, whose wealth seemed to come more from their contacts
with and proximity to power than from any hard work or intelligence.
Most of the members of this new business class, in which we admittedly
find many young men and women from that traditional elite, are
conducting their lives and businesses more in spite of than in harmony
and complicity with the rampant corruption. They are very easy to
identify in that they behave much more like entrepreneurs than like
bosses. By the way, it seems to me that it would today be more
productive and more conducive to modernity in the future if the term
"patronat" (owners, employers, as a group) were replaced with the term
"entreprenariat" (entrepreneurs). This doesn't seem like much, but it
would prompt a shift in attitude just as in the social and moral sphere
the term "single mother" has supplanted "unwed mother," with its
entirely negative connotation.
In our capacity to promote domestic investment
14.- Among the things that remain to be done it should be recalled that
if the government wants to be democratic it must learn to conciliate all
the pressures on it and at the same time respond to the demands of a
society that expects of its public institutions more effectiveness,
greater accountability and the will to meet the growing needs of the
poor. It will not do enough merely by trying to create conditions
conducive to foreign investment: it must be particularly at pains to
create an environment favorable to domestic investment and most
especially to small and medium-sized business. For while foreign
investment and loans can play an important role in growth and
development, those flows are never sufficient and are not always stable
and predictable, as Haiti's present experience shows. Sustainable
economic growth requires the successful mobilization of domestic
financial resources.
15.- Moreover, even if we want the private sector to become the main
engine of growth, the success of this policy depends in the long run on
the presence of an effective public sector, a government that remains
the driving force of economic and social development and is able to
correct deficiencies of the market and make up for failures of concert
among stakeholders without thereby attempting to change society by
decree. We must therefore strive to build a modern, more effective,
accountable government that conducts its business with transparency.
And in the implementation of a real social policy
16.- Today no one would think of denying that these reforms are not yet
giving the poor (the majority, in other words( more and better
opportunities for productive employment. The answer is not to abandon
the reforms, however. On the contrary, they must be improved. We must
see to it that a coherent macroeconomic policy goes hand in hand with
intensification of the national dialogue and the implementation of a
social reform program grounded in political consensus. We must broaden
the social programs to ensure that the entire population is productively
employed and to foster social and political stability. We must round out
the economic and financial reforms with genuine social reforms. Hence we
must have a social policy.
That results in appropriate budgetary allocations
17.- The design and implementation of a social policy are a complex
undertaking. They should involve the government as a whole and in no
case be left up to any single agency. To appreciably reduce the level of
poverty, concurrent measures must be taken in different directions. It
must not be forgotten that a reform of social policy entails a
reallocation of public expenditures to the social sectors, because
poverty cannot be reduced sustainably or human resources upgraded unless
the efforts to do so are accompanied by sustained budgetary efforts in
the implementation of poverty-reduction programs. Fresh investments must
be approved in human resources, mainly in the fields of education,
health care and vocational training both to improve equity and to
enhance the productivity of the human capital. Everybody knows that a
population that is healthier and better educated and skilled is more
productive and hence indispensable for an increase of employment and
modernization of production. This reform also requires a population
policy.
How many Haitians are we?
18.- It is a pity that we have not taken a census of the Haitian
population before entering the 21st century. The last general census
dates back to 1971 (with an update in 1982), and we do not have an
accurate estimate of our present number. The estimate for the population
in the country ranges between 7.2 and 7.8 million and Haitians abroad
are said to number about two million, scattered mainly in North America
(Canada and the United States), Europe and the Caribbean (the Dominican
Republic and the Bahamas). Here in Boston there are said to be about
65,000 of us.
19.- Must I remind the government of the necessity of counting the
population it governs to be able to assess the nature and scale of its
responsibilities and the means of discharging them, and to plan the
public services that will be required? And besides, the census would
provide the public authorities, among others, with reliable data for the
economic and social management of the country. It will also enable them
to set their priorities better, to determine the real impact of the
measures taken and to evaluate them better.
While modern sampling techniques are increasingly supplanting censuses,
if we want to use those techniques intelligently we must still take a
census first to obtain comprehensive information on every inhabitant and
have a reliable base from which to draw representative samples. Of
course, the cost of this will be high since every additional question
has to be multiplied by the total number of the population.
Thus the government should make the necessary arrangements for
conducting a general census of the population as soon as possible.
Besides, this would enable it to modernize once and for all the Institut
Haitien de Statistiques et d'Information (Haitian Statistical and Data
Processing Institute), whose importance has not, I think, always been
acknowledged by the public authorities.
Social dialogue must be intensified nationwide
20.- Social policy must be built into the Budget of the Republic. Here,
again, truth enjoins me to acknowledge that the government has sketched
the outlines of a social policy with the establishment of, among other
agencies, the FAES (Fonds d'Assistance Économique et Sociale) and INARA
(Institut National de la Réforme Agraire), and the execution of
practical agrarian reform activities in the Artibonite valley, coupled
with other measures for decentralization in agriculture and health, as
attested by the establishment of the "unités communales de santé"
(communal health units, or UCSs). And there are yet further measures
that could be mentioned. Again, however, these activities are too
dispersed to constitute a coherent policy, and have been obscured by the
breakdown or complete absence of social dialogue.
However, at the beginning of his term, breaking with political practice
in Haiti, where leaders generally abstain from any explanation of what
they do or of the decisions they take, President Préval arranged several
meetings with local communities, Parliament and civil society
organizations in an effort to arrive at a consensus on the reforms to be
undertaken and more particularly on the program for modernization of
public enterprises.
21.- This effort was not enough, however, and was not adequately
continued by the government. This is why, when the political
disagreements that had long been brewing broke into the open, the
temptation to challenge everything became great. But we must build on
what the government has done. We must capitalize on the reforms that
have been undertaken.
More than anything, however, we must resume and intensify the social
dialogue. That is, the established authorities (the executive,
legislative and judicial branches) must join hands with civil society
organizations (social, professional and labor organizations, NGOs,
political parties, the private sector, the religious sector, etc.) and
with Haitians abroad to break with past practice and lay the foundations
for a new society. But the established authorities must also be
organized on a sound basis, their gains consolidated, the areas of
agreement strengthened and efforts made to resolve differences. In this
national dialogue the executive branch must take the lead.
Finally, we must learn the art of compromise and concession
22.- Unfortunately, it has to be admitted that compromise and concession
are not in the Haitian makeup. This is why we so often see interminable
conflicts in which, in the end, all contending parties lose because they
have either overestimated their own strength or underestimated the
powers of resistance of the others. Some observers of this phenomenon
have not hesitated to attribute a suicidal urge to Haitians. But
psychologists will tell you that an absolute refusal to compromise and
concede actually betrays an acute sense of insecurity and weak
intelligence that makes it impossible to win, compromise or persuade.
Most of the tragedies that fill the history of Haiti have had no other
source.
23.- Thus the habit of making no concessions is not conducive to social
dialogue, which is yet essential to the success of any process of
change. What is worse, the contending parties spend so much time
preparing and parrying low blows that they reach the point of forgetting
and even setting entirely aside the interests of the country for whose
sake they claim to be participating in its political life. I invite you
to ponder most particularly the real meaning of this state of affairs.
24.- I will now go back to the need to build a modern and more effective
government, a government that is responsible for its acts and conducts
its business in the open. What we need to know is that this kind of
government requires institutional reinforcement of the executive,
legislative and judicial branches as well as of other public agencies. I
would like to return once again to the situation of the parliamentary
institution, which, though the present structure of the legislature is
based on the Constitution of 1987, has existed in our country since its
founding. Then, before closing, I will present more elaborate
considerations on the National Police, itself established only recently.
The executive and judicial branches will be the subject of the third
part of this series, to be delivered at another forum next July.
The parliamentary institution
25.- Elections will probably be held at the end of the year for
two-hirds of the seats in the Senate, the entire Chamber of Deputies,
all the mayors, CASECs and local authorities.
26.- If all goes well, the forty-seventh legislature will open on the
second Monday in January 2000. It is to be hoped that the elections that
return it will be recognized as honest and transparent by the Haitian
public so that its members may enjoy the legitimacy and respect that
universal suffrage confers. A well-functioning parliament is
indispensable to consolidate a democratic regime and guarantee the
quality of the laws. In our country this is all the more important in
that the Haitian Constitution endows the Parliament with extensive
powers to deal with issues of public policy and places the parliamentary
institution at the hub of the political system as the people's
representatMonday in January 2000. It is to be hoped that the elections
that return it will be recognized as honest and transparent by the
Haitian public so that its members may enjoy the legitimacy and respect
that univers
27.- To get an idea of the breadth of the responsibilities, rights and
duties of the Parliament, one must read Chapter III of the Constitution,
from article 88 to article 132. I also suggest a reading of two
publications interpreting these articles and their implications, written
by Mr. Claude Moïse, one under the title of "Le Rôle du Parlementaire
dans la Constitution de 1987," published in 1996 in the brochure "La 46è
me Législature du Parlement Haïtien," and the second titled "Un Pacte
Electoral, une Fois pour Toutes: Le Cas du Sénat," recently published in
Le Nouvelliste. In the first article Moïse reviews the role of the
legislative branch in the new political system and the means available
to it for action and oversight. In the second, after a plea for an
electoral covenant that, in my view, would also be a prelude to a real
pact for governance, he analyzes the dilemma posed by the pace of
turnover of the Senate based on three scenarios that take account of the
present situation in the Upper Chamber.
28.- Meanwhile, one has to know that it is essential to reinforce the
legitimacy and leadership role of the parliament if the democratic order
is to be consolidated and well conceived policies implemented for
sustainable, equitable development. In the overall context of
modernization of the government, this institutional reinforcement will
be decisive in enabling it to represent the Haitian people effectively.
29.- In practice, however, how is the parliamentary institution
organized for the performance of its function? As you already know, the
Haitian parliament is a bicameral legislative body elected by direct
suffrage, made up of twenty-seven senators, three for each of the
country's nine departments, and of eighty-three deputies, one for each
election district. One-hird of the Senate is replaced every two years.
Senators are elected to terms of six years and the deputies to terms of
four. They may be reelected indefinitely.
30.- To perform its assigned functions the Parliament has four offices:
bureaus, parliamentary committees, budget committees and the conference
of chairmen. I will briefly review the composition and role of each
category.
The Bureaus
31.- The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate each have a Bureau
consisting of the chairman, vice chairman, treasurer, and two
secretaries. The Bureaus have charge of the administrative affairs of
the Parliament and its day-to-day business. They play an essential part
in the legislative process because bills of law have to be submitted to
them for recording and distribution to the parliamentarians and to the
parliamentary commission involved.
The committees
32.- There are nineteen committees in the Chamber of Deputies and nine
in the Senate. Each is named for the sector or ministerial department it
deals with: agriculture, education, health, finance, etc. Each is headed
by a chairman and its members represent all political groups and
parties. They review and analyze bills of law and propose amendments as
appropriate. They can neither enact nor reject laws. They do study them,
however, and submit them with recommendations to the plenary body, which
then does vote on them. When circumstances so require, special
committees are formed to consider a specific request or bill. For
example, when a new PM is designated, a special committee is appointed
to examine his record and make recommendations to the plenary body. This
special committee is dissolved once the PM-designate has been ratified
or rejected.
Budgetary committees
33.- In addition to the parliamentary committees, there are two
budgetary committees, one in each chamber, charged with studying the
Budget of the Republic and making recommendations to the government and
their respective plenary bodies.
The conference of chairmen
34.- The members of this body are all the chairmen of the committees and
leaders of all the political groups in each chamber. The conference
provides a forum for discussion of the legislative calendar and arrival
at a consensus on the priorities and deliberations on the subjects under
consideration.
The administrative functions of secretariat, records and maintenance are
grouped under the heading of General Services (Services Généraux) and
performed by the permanent staff of the Parliament, which in 1998
numbered about 178 in the Chamber of Deputies and 171 in the Senate.
This means that, when the Parliament meets as a national assembly, the
parliamentarians and their personnel combined add up to a population of
459 persons.
Institutional constraints on the Parliament
35.- Analysts agree in acknowledging that the institutional framework in
which the work of the Parliament is done is poorly conceived. The legal
framework is weak, wanting in regulations to link the organization,
roles, structure and operations of the Chamber of Deputies and the
Senate. The internal rules and procedures for the guidance and conduct
of deliberations are incomplete. The result is improvised sessions that
are held behind schedule and are of limited effectiveness. Moreover, the
lack of a parliamentary tradition in Haiti has contributed to a poverty
of knowledge and experience in parliamentary practices and procedures in
a majority of both the members and of their support personnel. Besides,
the fragmentation of the forty-sixth deprived it of the leadership
required to strengthen the institution.
36.- There is at present no law on parliamentary career development, or
any policy on recruitment, standardization of posts, remunerations, or
performance criteria to ensure the presence of nonpartisan professional
staff to track the operations of the parliament. The support staff are
not civil servants, but are recruited directly by the parliamentarians
themselves. This situation has resulted in a high turnover and the
absence of a core of experienced support staff to assist and guide
freshman parliamentarians. Though most of the parliamentary personnel
are young, enthusiastic and devoted to their jobs, they need more
specific training in legislative affairs. At present the Parliament has
neither the internal capacity nor the money to provide that training.
The day-to-day business of the parliament is further hampered by a
shortage of basic office supplies and equipment, such as paper and pens,
typewriters, fax machines and more specialized equipment for
transcription, recording, security and communications, which are in
severely short supply.
37.- The Parliament generally runs into difficulties in the preparation,
management and finalization of its budget. It constructs its own budget,
which, however, is subject to approval and amendment by the Ministry of
Finance. This de facto situation places the Parliament in the
paradoxical situation of approving the Budget of the Republic without
having the indepe