#624: Structural adjustment : Gill replies to Antoine

[Robert Corbett <bcorbett@netcom.com>]

From: Mark Gill <markgill@midwest.net>
> 
> 
> Could you please elaborate on which measures were
> designed to help the Haitian peasants and in what manner?
 > ****and, how does reducing tariffs on agricultural imports help the 
peasants?  

perhaps to lower the cost of rice and beans for the consumer?  but, such a tariff reduction can only hurt small
producers since cheaper imports undermine local agricultural
production....and, it is difficult to understand what Peter is saying in
regards the impact of tariff reductions....i have never
heard anyone say that the political impasse of the last 2 years was due
to this aspect of "structural adjustments"....
> >(snip) And now we see that in spite of the efforts of "young
> >activists" like Rene Civil and the JPP the privatization of Teleco
> >is pushing to a conclusion.
> 
> Could you describe the outcome a bit more specifically, and
> in your opinion, is it a good thing or a bad thing, and why?
> 
> >(snip) We have all read scores of proposals for development
> >over the past four years, all of which made more sense than the
> >one the international lenders apparently contemplate. I have yet
> >to read one of these proposals that had anything concrete to say
> >about how such development might be funded.
> 
> Unless there's a typo or omission in there, I don't follow the logic.
> Did the proposals make more sense, or made no sense?****and, who wrote these "other plans"?
> 
> >Although I would be interested in hearing otherwise, I
> >doubt the GOH ever had a choice other than to dig in,
> >negotiate the best deal possible, and move on.
> 
> What makes the GOH so impotent in your view?  Is it solely the
> utter lack of capital, or are there other equally important factors?****thus, are we to conclude that Peter holds the view whereby the GOH simply had to sit and have IMF/World Bank proposals forced on them?  
> 
> >Apart from those amounts tacitly set aside by the lenders
> >for the satisfaction of the corrupt instincts of Haiti's
> >rulers...
> 
> If this was done tacitly, how does one get to know about it?
> Do the the international lenders support corruptness in a
> machiavellic manner (the end justifies the means?)  What
> would be a good estimate of those amounts specifically set
> aside to assuage the corrupt instincts of Haiti's rulers?
> Also, is it possible to grease the hands of a killer without
> seriously compromising your own integrity?
> 
> >I doubt that the banks will intentionally leave very much of
> >the disbursement of the money to the government's discretion,
> >but will instead misspend it themselves.*****what does this mean? who determines what "misspend" means?  are the banks therefore corrupt?
> 
> How do you suppose they will misspend the money? And is
> there any alternative leading to responsibility and accountability?
> 
>Mark Gill
-- 
Envoy to Caribbean, IAEWP (NGO)
Albert Schweitzer Caribbean Foundation
Albert Schweitzer Society International
drgill  markgill@midwest.net
                            
Society of Signum Fidei  markgill@ecosse.net