6997: Fanmi Lavalas Govt Plan: The Program's Foundations (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

The Program's Foundations

The economic and social program of Organization Fanmi Lavalas for the 
five-year term 2001-2006, is recorded in the global policy defined in 
Investir dans l'Humain and takes into account the recent assessment of the 
socio-political and economic situation.  

OBJECTIVES
Thus, in the context of this program, the Organization is pursuing the 
following specific objectives:

a) to promote economic growth and more participation in development in order 
to improve the average per capita income of US $300 per year and to make it 
possible to double it over the next decade;

b) to reinforce the private sector, promoters and social movements that are 
trying to revitalize the social and economic fabric and induce them to invest 
in the creation of a number of economic activities that would be development 
hubs for job creation;

c) to dynamize the peaceful struggle of the disadvantaged minorities who are 
ceaselessly requesting: justice, transparance, and participation;

THE MAJOR AXIS
In order to reach these objectives, the Organization has selected five major 
courses of action which are:

a) The execution of infrastructure works in the very short term, covering and 
opening up the 565 existing communal sections in order to allow the 
population's effective participation in the country's economic and social 
development.  This supposes a long term, stable and viable organization of 
the following sectors: Energy, transportation (roads, airports, seaports, 
transportation services...), telecommunications (urban, regional and 
international telephone service...);

b) The pursuit of efforts to revive the national production for the five 
years to come giving priority to growth in the areas of: agriculture, 
exports, import substitution industries, and crafts.  Decisive action will be 
undertaken in order to promote micro finances and the various types of 
cooperatives and make them the levers of such growth;

c) The pursuit and implementation of the National Education Plan, with three 
very specific objectives to be reached by 2004, they are: a functional 
fundamental school in each communal section, universal schooling and a 
significant reduction of the adult illiteracy rate;

d) National health coverage through the expansion of the health center 
network and reinforcement of primary health care.  The objective here is to 
have a functional body in each communal section by 2004, with effective 
involvement of the population in the decision-making process;

e) The reorganization of the judicial system in the framework of the fight 
against impunity, the concept of reparation, as well as the extension of law 
enforcement services to all social categories, especially those living in 
rural areas.

The development of these major axis with the participation of all Haitian 
citizens, as well as Haiti's friends shall be mostly primarily based on the 
valorization and management of all of the country's resources.  This will 
also send out a positive signal for taking the road to decentralization.

THE APPROACH SELECTED
The Organization has opted for an approach based above all on the human 
capital and the long term pay off of economic actions and will rely on a 
stable and lasting partnership between the representatives of the Central 
State, the local assemblies concerned and all of the economic and social 
groups interested and involved in the development process.  It will also work 
at reinforcing a state under the rule of law, a strategy oriented and 
regulatory state, that will guarantee the adoption and application of "open 
and lasting policies."

THE PRIVATE SECTOR'S ROLE
The Organization has reserved a prime role for the private sector in the 
development of the above mentioned major courses of action.  The term 
"private sector" includes large, midsize and small commercial and industrial 
concerns, including cooperatives and all lucrative activities of the informal 
sector that require develop initiatives of which some are already underway 
and others are to be undertaken to include the young and marginalized social 
groups.

For this purpose, Organization Fanmi Lavalas has retained two additional 
courses of action at the level of the development of the productive sectors:

a) To incite the formal private sector to invest more of its own resources 
for creating a large number of businesses in order to generate massive 
employment;

b) To provide direct support to the informal private sector through public 
investment programs aimed at their structuring and reinforcement so as to 
promote small and medium sized businesses.

COLLECTIVE WELFARE
All of the Organization's efforts will result in an economic environment 
favorable to the development of income producing activities, the modernizing 
of the state machinery, and the implementation of a production revival 
policy, by integrating the instruments as a whole, notably the mobilization 
of resources from regulated and organized savings and credit funds, as well 
as foreign assistance, or within the framework of an integrated master scheme 
targeting collective welfare.

THE GLOBAL STRATEGIES
Organization Fanmi Lavalas' Plan of Action for the five year term 2001-2006 
is part of the global policy defined in its policy guide and takes into 
account the recent assessment of the socio-political and economic situation.

The plan's strategy is to engage in actions that will immediately impact the 
population's concerns in the short term as well as structural reform measures 
whose results will be seen and/or quantified in the mid and long terms.  For 
this purpose, the plan of action the Organization intends to apply focuses on:

a) The pursuit of budget consolidation efforts in reinforcing the encashment 
capacities of internal savings, notably through the development of 
micro-finance, private capital and external funds.

b) The improvement of the business environment aimed at a lasting development 
of private enterprise and partnerships.  This will be achieved with targeted 
groups, private economic and social agents, such as farmers, cooperatives, 
labor unions, etc.

c) The reinforcement of the State's ability to ensure the security of lives 
and property;

d) The organization and management of basic utilities and means of 
communication;

e) The effective decentralization of national investments, both public and 
private, as well as that of decision-making and management agencies.

f) The implementation of social safety nets beginning with the most 
disadvantaged and vulnerable age groups within the population;

g) The reduction of the physical environment's deterioration.

THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
The first two years will be especially marked by a national effort towards 
funding, political stability, credible institutions, the reinforcement of the 
state's authority, a drastic reduction of crime and acts of infringement on 
private property, and help restore trust at the level of the various economic 
agents, thus creating the necessary conditions for investment.

Continued...