5528: Re: 5493: Free zones for Haiti : Poincy comments (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: caineve@idt.net

Talk!talk! talk! Just cheap talk! I hope the Ayitian government does not buy 
any of it. 

“Our perception is that Haiti can reverse that situation in the short range, 
taking advantage of new trade facilities, including the passing of the 
Caribbean Basin Initiative enhancement pact.”

1) To take advantage of “new trade facilities” one must have something to trade 
in the first place. What does Ayiti have to trade that others want.

“He said that with the support of the private and public sector and the 
international community, Haiti could become the emerging country of the 
Caribbean.”

2) How would Ayiti become the emerging country when the international investors 
are looking for efficiency in production? Good infrastructures, communication 
and transportation, and the availability of a skilled labor force render such a 
result, all of which are absent in the country. So what exactly is he talking 
about?

“He foresees Haiti could consolidate itself as an attractive destination for 
local and foreign investment in economic development projects, such as free 
zones.”

3) There are no such things as foreign investments for economic development as 
we think of in Ayiti’s case. Foreign investments that further economic 
development are direct investments. Which crazy ones would want to have direct 
investment in Ayiti when insecurity is king and political uncertainty, the 
queen?

Mr. Capellán must really think that Ayitian authorities are stupid, to try to 
lure them in his free zone skim in DR. Ayiti was rather a pioneer in cheap 
labor. The menial production activities assigned to Ayiti in the 70s were far 
to make Ayiti a pioneer in free-zone that would bring economic development. 
That was the worst thing Ayiti had ever gotten itself into then. Today it is 
paying the price. It had killed the hope of economic development in Ayiti for 
reasons that I amply laid out in previous posts. 

However, I am for aiming at Aytian cheap labor for the DR free zone, but not on 
the ground cited above. If only it would be restricted to labor movement. That 
would help Ayiti a great deal. The country would have the opportunity to devote 
itself to better and sounder economic development strategies. It would benefit 
Ayiti indirectly as a big chunk of the wandering labor force would be absorbed. 
Hopefully, people would stop migrating to Port-au-Prince or those in Port-au-
Prince would leave for better opportunities somewhere else.

If the multinationals find an indirect way to use Ayitian cheap labor without 
destroying the country’s mean of economic development, it’s great and I am all 
for it. It remains to see if the Ayitian authorities would engage in economic 
activities that would empower the local market after all.


Ayiti has lived, lives and will live
Mozeb


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