HAITI - RECONSTRUCTION: THE CARICOM URGES THE IHRC TO ACT QUICKLY

Grand Anse, Grenada, March 1- During the 22th summit of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held in Grenada from 25 to 26 February, where was present a Haitian delegation led by President René Préval, the CARICOM leaders have urged the Commission Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) to reassess its working methods and accelerate the reconstruction in Haiti.

For the leaders of the CARICOM, although that the projects approved by the IHRC are important, they do not reflect the immediate needs of the Haitian people. They also estimated that this entity should take into account the priorities of local government and implement them faster. Finally, the CARICOM has requested to the international community to provide the promised funds to boost the reconstruction of Haiti and allow the state to manage these resources.

CARICOM has agreed that the biggest obstacle to the reconstruction is the lack of power of local authorities in the redistribution of money donated by other governments and multilateral organizations.

As part of this 22th summit, the members of CARICOM have officially launched the $100 million fund designed for granting loans to merchants and companies interested to invest in Haiti.

The CARICOM has reiterated its commitments, inter alia, to maintain a technical and professional assistance to the Haitian Government, of strengthen institutions and train human resources. This 22th Summit of CARICOM also included the analysis of new regional development projects in the fields of education, tourism, energy, trade and environment.

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