Marie-Claude Jean-Baptiste

Poster Presentation

Decentralization is a serious issue in Haiti and one of the major obstacle to development in the country. Many farmers and people from all sectors of the rural areas migrate to the capital, Port-au-Prince, in increasing number. The main reasons for this exodus range from endemic poverty sustained by the chronic political crisis to poor or no access to health care, ineffective education, natural disaster and lack of infrastructure. These people come to the capital in the hope of finding better living conditions, jobs and adequate education. However, because of the job market already saturated in the capital and the weak economy, most of them do not get the jobs or the higher living standards that they had expected. As a result, they rely on all kind of temporary, low pay jobs and other activities such as prostitution and street gangs. Moreover, the new migrants to the capital live in crowded shantytowns without access to water or electricity. Crimes and other illegal activities are serious threats in these shantytowns. This whole situation creates an insecure and uneasy environment for everyone in the capital, including the government and the civil society. Government authorities have been trying for the past years to implement decentralization policies and have sponsored various projects aimed at decentralizing the capital and so the people would move back to the rural areas. Even if some progress have been made, the chaotic and uncertain political situation has undermined most efforts to decentralized the capital and it remains a key issue that challenges both to the government and the civil society in Haiti.

Moreover, whithout a clear and independent leadership, there has been little follow up in the decentralization projects and the most of the plans have died out in the drawers of governmental agencies.

The problem of decentralization in Haiti requires leadership because it needs an individual with a clear vision of how this decentralization process should be carried out. It also demands for a fair amount of authority that would materialize in a strong leadership so viable decisions could be made amid the confusions created by the ungoing political crisis. A strong leadership would be better able to manage the relationships between government agencies, civil society, foreing investors and the international community (donor countries) all of which play a role in the decentralization process. This leadership should also be sensible to the needs and demands of the people of the rural areas that it would serve. It should have appropriate formation on the Haitian political, geographical and social environment. The need for good leadership is even more important considering that the leader should also be able to manage adequately the administrative staff and make fair and honest use of the material and financial means put at his or her disposition.

The proposed solution to the problem of migration to the capital has already been established and accepted as decentralization. Now, how should this decentralization be carried out?

1) Built and repair roads and bridges that link the rural areas to the

capital or the main cities. This measure would have as effective

consequence to lessen the isolation of the rural towns and open them

to the rest of the country for investment and tourism. Moreover, on the

short run, services such as health care that are not available in the area

could be sought in the capital without the need of an extended stay.

The people would come to the capital, take care of their business and

go back to the countryside because it would take less time and would

be safer.

2) Create and encourage the creation of better and safer public

transportation to the rural areas. This measure goes hand in hand with

the first one in opening up the rural areas and facilitate transportation.

A railroad system or a bus transit system would not only keep the

people close to the capital and major cities without having to move but would also create a considerable amount of new jobs both in the

countryside and in the cities.

3) Strengthen the countryside

The countryside must be self-reliant in education,

infrastructure/services and engage in agricultural reform and revival.

- In education, the rural areas could be strengthen by creating

better schools establishments and educational programs

especially for Higher Education. This could be done by

encouraging well-formed instructors and college professors to

move to these areas. They would be offered incentives such as

accommodating their housing, pay them higher wages and/or

offering them superior and secured retirement plan. New

schools would also have to be built in order to accommodate

the students in a more efficient learning environment.

- The rural areas could also strengthened by strengthening their

infrastructure and improve their service to the population by

initiating a larger distribution and delivery of electricity, water

and phone services in the areas. Affordable and reliant

heathcare should be available to the people by the building of

hospital and clinics, vaccination programs and competent medical personel. In Haiti actually there are a significant

number of Cuban doctors who help in local hospitals and

clinics in a program of friendship, cooperation and exchange

between the two countries. Those doctors are present in the

most remote places and deliver first-class care to the population

and also cooperate in improving and furthering the formation of

Haitian medical personal.

- Creation of entertainement centres such as movie theaters and

soccer fields would further divert attraction to the cities as the

population could find everything home even the fun. Moreover,

in those rural areas where the main activity is farming such

entertainment would be a safe and enjoyable break from the

daily workship of working the land.

- Agricultural reform. There can be no viable decentralization

policy that does not involve a fair and progressive agricultural

reform and assistant to the peasants. Many of the peasants who

move to the cities do so because they do no have enough land

or enough adequate resources to work their land effectively.

Many acres of land, in the Haitian countryside are abandoned

whether because of absenteist landlords or because they have been ceased by the government. These lands should be

distributed to the peasants along with adequate formation on

how to work it. This formation should include the use and

formation of compost, irrigation, planting, harvesting etc.

Cuban experts in agriculture are also very involve in an already

existing program of teaching the farmers. They have done

remarkable work in teaching them the uses and creation of

compost from natural matter and irrigation systems such as

artificial lakes.

All these changes in the infrastructure of the rural areas would bring the peasants back to their hometowns with adequate means of surviving and prospering. They will have better social services, ensuring them decent and satisfying living conditions. Moreover, with the construction of roads, bridges and mass transit, trade will boom and so will national and international investments. This in turn will create new jobs for the people in the rural areas. THe government could encourage this investments by creating a temporary program lowering taxes for companies investing in the countryside. Tourism will also flourish in these areas as they will become more accessible and known.