Between the Peasants and the Donors
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BRIEFING Number 17 G April 1996 WBhat’s left of Latvalaws - lookineg for aneswers, Pn réval’s inatugurhation, eNational Paplace, 7eth Febrauary 19s96 aPhoton by Leath Gos rdon and the donors he new President, Rene Préval, has unveiled his strategy to try the private sector at a 25% interest rate. It was, he said, left with Tto repair Haiti’s shattered economy. His government, lead by no other choice but to accept the IFI’s offer of loans at a much Prime Minister Rony Smarth, has vowed to re-launch nation - reduced rate. al production in areas such as agriculture, tourism and other ser - The provision of these loans is dependent on the application of vice industries, to privatise state enterprises, and to restructure the a structural adjustment programme (SAP) which directly conflicts public sector. with a revival of domestic agricultural production. On the con - With the appointment of Smarth, an agronomist, and by fre - trary, the stipulation that import tariffs are abolished threatens to quent public references to his intention to prioritise domestic agri - destroy traditional Haitian agriculture. When asked how the inter - cultural production, Préval has set out his stall as ‘president of the ests of Haiti’s peasant farmers might be protected under agree - peasants’. His fact-finding visits to the main farming areas of the ments with the IMF and World Bank, the new Agriculture Artibonite, the north-east and the south have raised expectations Minister Gerald Mathurin told the Inter Press Service , ‘’This has that his government will provide much needed assistance to the not yet been resolved.’’ agricultural sector. What has been determined is that the programme to privatise How this laudable ambition can be realised in the context of the certain state enterprises, another part of the SAP demanded by the Haitian government’s declaration that it is totally reliant on funds IMF and World Bank, will go ahead. This was announced by provided by the international financial institutions (IFI) remains to President Préval on the eve of his visit to the United States at the be seen. end of March. While this move was warmly received in According to Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, who headed the presi - Washington, in Haiti opposition was voiced by unions and popu - dential transition team and participated in the discussion of the lar organizations as well as some Haitian leaders close to the gov - new government’s economic policies, Haiti faces total bankruptcy ernment. They argue that privatisation will accentuate the poverty within two months. Jean-Baptiste said the government had dis - of the urban and rural masses, and only profit those who already counted the options of printing more money, or borrowing from have the economic advantage in the country. (See centre pages.) Sell off and s Haiti’s popular organisations oppos ne of the hottest political generate sufficient profits and great - A representative of the cement Union leaders Oissues in Haiti is whether the ly improve the quality of service. workers’ union told Haiti Info , “To mobilise public op government should privatise In February 1996, Bejin Jean privatise the cement plant and the mentary support the country’s state-run industries. Pierre, a leader of the federation of other enterprises means totally vatisation process For the new President Préval and his the EDH workers unions, told Haiti removing from state hands any eco - public enterprises administration these enterprises are Briefing , “It is relatively easy to nomic power and giving it to the pri - must mobilise to b loss-makers that can only be turned develop EDH. We have already around with an injection of private made changes in the structure of the investment. Once the privatisation company. We have cut down on cor - programme begins, they argue, the ruption and embezzlement, and over “This mafioso private sector (in Haiti) h international finance agencies, like the last seven months EDH has dou - the Haitian people through smuggling, d the International Monetary Fund bled its income. Our real problem is and the World Bank will release there is no political will on the part government subsidies, non-payment of promised loans with which the gov - of the government to make it work and all that, so that now they have the ernment can develop the country’s as a public company.” buy up the state industries with the m economy. The case for maintaining state Critics of the public sector point control of Teleco is even stronger have stolen.” Antoine Izmery, popular out the service provided by the elec - considering that a World Bank study leader speaking shortly before he was a tric authority (EDH) and the tele - showed that in 1994 it made a profit by the military regime in Septembe phone company (Teleco) is so poor US$42 million despite “a great deal that an injection of private capital of embezzlement, waste and under- can’t fail to bring about improve - exploitation of services”. The same ments. Vast areas of the country study admits that over ten years vate sector which has shown itself to tion of this policy have no electricity supply at all, and Teleco could finance its own mod - be against the people. In such a situ - worsen the living those that do are subject to repeated ernisation at the rate of 20 million ation we wouldn’t need a president population,’’ said black-outs. According to the former dollars a year. Haiti’s popular or a government any more...We member of the Prime Minister, Smarck Michel, organisations also reject the idea would have given the country to the Mobilise against th who supported privatisation, only that after privatisation the private bourgeoisie and said ‘Do what you of March, the Pla 7% of the population has use of sector would run the enterprises want with it.’” electricity. A study of Teleco made more efficiently, or in the interests of Opponents of privatisation say the in 1995 showed that there are only the country as a whole. In August rich Haitian elite and foreign 65,000 telephone lines serving a 1995 a press release signed by investors will now buy up the shares THE population of approximately seven Konbit Komilfo and five other pop - and run the facilities for a profit. The million. ular organisations argued, “It’s true poorer customers i.e. the vast major - 1991 The govern That the state enterprises are pro - the state businesses are sick...but to ity, who could have been provided President Aristide viding a woefully inadequate service privatise...with a private sector that with state-subsidised service, will through with elec and are a drain on the government did the coup d’etat rather than pay either not be able to afford a service campaign promis coffers are facts that are not denied taxes” is unacceptable. or will not be provided with one. out corruption an by the opponents of privatisation. inefficiency in the What is contested is the idea that state-controlled u only by selling them off to private national flour mil investors can they be revitalised. A factory and port recent editorial in the newspaper, begin to generate Haiti Progrès , pointed out that in Inter-American D four months in 1991, before the Bank subsequentl coup against the Aristide govern - announces that, i ment, “the cement plant was able to for the September turn a 4.5 million gourde net loss coup, the nationa into an estimated 100,000 gourde company would h net profit. The flour mill went from profit of at least U losing 2.76 million gourdes in million in 1991. February to making 2.13 million 1991-94 Followi gourdes in April 1991.” September 1991 Union leaders and popular organi - the military regim sations today claim that if the the looting of equ Haitian government seriously plant, and the em of funds from the attempted to reform the state enter - Meeting of the Women’s Organisation of the Plain of Léogâne. Popular or - prises, as happened under Aristide in ganisations across the country have opposed the neo-liberal American Plan controlled utilitie 1991, then they could in a short time for over a decade. Photo by Leah Gordon Supporters of the sell out se privatisation say they will Human Rights Organizations issued pinion and parlia - a strong condemnation of the gov - to block the pri - ernment saying that “without even s. ‘’Employees of articulating and presenting before s and the people the nation a real development pro - block the applica - ject” or engaging in the “dialogue” which it promised, it has “launched an all-out campaign in favour of neo-liberal policies and structural has robbed adjustment.” Those policies have drug-dealing, repeatedly failed in other countries, the Platform pointed out, and their their taxes, consequences “threaten the process e capital to of democratization”. money they “That the government has decided to bow down to the dictates of the movement international financial institutions assassinated and the U.S. government is today a er 1993 done deal, but the nation is not stupid. The neo-liberal measures cannot do anything to resolve the grave problems of poverty and y, which will only underdevelopment which effect our conditions of the country. To want to re-launch agri - d Yves Sanon, a cultural production through privati - Anti-structural adjustment puppet - part of a giant puppet parade at this e Collective to zation is to ask people to ‘eat their year’s Port-au-Prince carnival, organised by the Platform to Advocate for he IMF. At the end feet in order to find the strength to an Alternative Development. Photo by Charles Arthur atform of Haitian run,’” the Platform said.