9402: Re: 9394: Re: 9345: Dorce to Pierre Jean on Transparency (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Pierre Jean <pierrejean01@yahoo.com>


> From: LAKAT47@aol.com
> 
> I am not against reporting government spending.  I
> think there should be 
> transparency in all governments.  However, I wonder
> if all those who are so 
> bent on criticizing the Haitian government would be
> happy with ANYTHING that 
> government does.  

There are several things I am happy about:

+ no matter how you look at it, there is much more
freedom of the press than there has ever been. While
Amnesty International et al may not agree with that,
the fact that Le Nouvelliste can print editorial after
editorial skewering the givernment, that radio
stations have a field day criticizing the government
speaks volumes about this freedom. There have been
acts of violence committed against journalists here
and there, but that is to be expected. Overall, we
have moved forward positively on that issue.

+ the Preval government has achieved many small things
for which it has received little or no recognition,
especially in the areas of secondary road building and
school construction. These achievements have been
overshadowed by the political situation and the
remaining deficiencies in other infrastructure sectors
(electricity, water) unfortunately.

+ the dismantling of the army was a painful but
necessary first step toward the eradication of the
Duvalier culture. I think most Haitians were clearly
for that, even though PNH is having severe problems.

I will stop here, but there HAS been some progress on
certain fronts. Unfortunately, the problems that still
exist are so overwhelming that they take up 99% of the
bandwidth, so to speak.

 If Aristide leaves
> out ex-Duvalierists, he 
> is not including ALL Haitians in his government; if
> he includes them, he is 
> selling out.  If Aristide represents the needs of
> the poor majority, he is 
> not taking care of ALL Haitians, if he negotiates
> with elites......he is 
> selling out and indeed is one of THEM now.  For many
> people, there is nothing 
> he can do that is right.  

Why this fixation on Aristide? We are talking about
the GOVERNMENT OF HAITI for heaven's sake. Again, is
Aristide the sole decision maker? The poor guy cannot
possibly responsible for all that is happening.

How about Cherestal? What has he accomplished? How
well is he managing his people? Not well, if we are to
believe press accounts. What are the ministers up to?
How about locally elected officials? The many
embezzlement scandals surrounding elected mayors (all
from Fanmi Lavalas) are quite unnerving:
Port-au-Prince, Croix-des-Bouquets, Hinche, Gonaives,
Saint-Marc ... We have seen corruption before, but it
had never been so brazen. This cannot possibly be
pinned on IRI or USAID.

Aristide alone cannot solve the ills of Haiti. If the
team he has assembled becomes a hindrance rather than
a factor of change, then he has a big problem on his
hands. Either he ditches them for another team or he
suffers the consequences.

> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
> <<Also, since the Corbett list is about Haiti first
> as
> we are reminded all the time, it is secondary to me
> what IRI and USAID spent, and how they spent it, on
> democracy building in Haiti ...>>
> ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
> It may be secondary but it is relevant just the
> same.  

Relevant, maybe, but what power do I have to change
their policies? None. Therefore, I cannot be concerned
over a body that is outside my sphere of influence. I
can only ignore it and alert people I know to not
trust it. However, YOU as an American can do something
about it.

> to.  It isn't going to be 
> perfect but 225 years later, the US hardly is doing
> a perfect job of govening 
> in a democracy either. 

Perhaps, but then again the majority of Americans are
not directly affected by changes in governments
because of your country's relatively high standard of
living. On the other hand, the majority of the Haitian
people are constantly looking up to the government for
change because that's where the signals have to come
from. Again, you cannot compare Haiti and the United
States politically or otherwise. It is just not fair.

> Micromanagement is killing Haiti.  

Actually, not quite! We are all bystanders watching
the acts of a fairly unresponsive government. Since we
have no power to affect the decisions of this
government, we cannot possibly be managing.
 
 


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