15239: Karshan: HIGHLIGHTS OF PROGRESS REPORTS GIVEN BY GOVT OF HAITI (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com


HIGHLIGHTS OF PROGRESS REPORTS GIVEN BY VARIOUS GOVERNMENT OF HAITI MINISTERS
AND OTHERS


Minister of Health:
·   More than 460 million gourdes invested in health sector with 200 millions
gourdes spent on infrastructure development such as health centers in the
Port-au-Prince metropolitan area.
·   The country has benefited from US$67 million Global Fund Initiative
against HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. He reported that certain
non-governmental organizations involved in this global effort have already
received an initial allocation.
·   Measures have been adopted in order to decentralize the country's health
system as part of a program entitled "Agenda 2003."
·   An increase in the number of doctors as a result of an agreement with the
Faculty of Medicine of the University of the Haitian State.
·   Ongoing efforts to support employees in the health care sector. These
employees will benefit, he said, by a credit program (Crédit-PAM) that is
available to them.
·   Efforts underway to pay doctors regularly, although under current
economic conditions a salary increase is not possible.

Minister of Education:
·   Preparation for state exams underway with registration ongoing nationwide
nearly completed. 600,000 have already registered for state exams.
·   The state exam on Haitian literature will be given in both Creole and
French.
·   Two new schools recently inaugurated and four others renovated.
·   Efforts to improve education include continual teacher training, HIV/AIDS
education for students.
·   Negotiations with teachers union underway to address insurance,
transportation fees, and pension.
·   In this year of three bicentennials (the death of Toussaint Louverture,
the creation of the flag, and the battle of Vertières), the Ministry
recommends to teachers in the social sciences that they pay particular
attention to subjects dealing with Toussaint Louverture, the Haitian flag and
the events that marked the war of independence.

Presidential Commission on the Modernization of Public Enterprises reported
on cooperation between private and public sector and modernization of state
entities:
·   Three years since modernization of flour mill and two years for cement
mill.
·   975 million gourdes collected in taxes for the past three years on the
flour mill.
·   325 million gourdes collected in taxes for the past two years on the
cement mill.
·   Need more private sector involvement with the government on different
fronts such as the airports, soliticiting private sector investment.

Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications:
·   Construction of road to airport
·   Fulltime electricity provided to Cap Haitien, Jacmel, Les Cayes and
Petit-Goave
·   Repair of Avenue Bolosse
·   Construction of alternative Route de Carrefour
·   Cleaned out sewers along Champ-de-Mars, Avenue Bolosse and cleaned out
ravine at Bois-de-Chene
·   Renovating Saint-Gerard road
·   Applying adoquin stone to portions of Delmas 19 and 31
·   Sections of Route National #1 repaired near Cap Haitien
·   Sections of Route National #2 repaired in Les Cayes and Port Salud
·   Progress reported on status of repair and construction of administrative
buildings at Gonaives and Cap Haitian airports
·   Road repair underway for sections of road from St. Marc to Gonaives and
from Les Cayes to Port Salut.
·   Announced construction on Cap Haitien-Milot road and the Miragoane-Petit
Goave road.
·   Announced that bridges are scheduled to be built for the rivers of
Torbeck and Acul du Sud.

Former Minister of Agriculture, now member of President's Cabinet, reported
on agriculture:
·   Looking at ways to increase national production and decrease dependence
on importation of products Haiti can produce
·   GOH invested 375,540,000 gourdes in agriculture
·   96,000 gourdes used for irrigation projects
·   7,000 hectare of land benefited from irrigation work
·   3,000 hectares of land benefited from new irrigation systems installed
·   GOH invested 87 million gourdes on agricole equipment
·   21 million gourdes devoted to the health of livestock
·   Private and public partnership agreement called APPEL to increase
production of chicken
·   Accelerated efforts for production and exportation of coffee, mango and
chocolate (technical, marketing, international market)
·   Lakes and basins were protected (i.e. Basin Versant)
·   Technical assistance through Cuban-Haitian cooperation increased fish
farming

Minister of Tourism:
·   Continuing to intensive efforts to promote tourism to various regions of
the country in effort to revitalize tourism, which is a major source of
foreign money
·   Announced publication of "Agenda 2003" which has political, economic and
cultural information in it.

Member of President's Cabinet reported on improvements in metropolitan area
to help stop deterioration of environment and prepare for 2004:
·   Drainage on Blvd. Jean Jacques Dessalines brought much improvement
·   Started cleaning out main canals, canals in certain zones in the capital
(which he named) including in Cite Soliel.  Garbage in those canals cause
lots of problems, particularly when it rains.
·   40,000 cubic meters of garbage was removed from canals so far
·   Ravine Pintade next for clean up
·   Route Frier, Delmas and Tabarre routes have had a lot of drainage done
also
·   Drainage work done Canapevert, Nazon, Delmas 18
·   Project to regain spaces and remove construction materials and abandoned
cars that block streets
·   Drainage work proved successful after inspection after rain in Avenue
Bolosse, Fontamara, Bicentenaire, La Saline and Delmas