The destructiveness of the 2010 earthquake that hit the country killed over three hundred thousand and demolished a substantial part of Port-au-Prince. The U. S. And other donors promised to rebuild the country. Their planned hope was to cast away its history of dependence on foreign assistance. Once relief efforts petered out, the work was slowed down. Haiti reconstruction efforts according to its critics have not amounted to much.
The U. S. Government has already spent USD 1.3 billion on rescuing vulnerable lives. Yet when the goals shifted after three months to laying the groundwork complications took over. Provision for 1.8 billion in funds for rebuilding has been made. But two years since the earthquake, observers see partial progress.
The improvements include achieving half of the needed rubble removal. Repair of damaged residences and relocation of more than one million from tents have been salutary achievements. However, approximately 370,000 remain in tents according to the estimate of the U. N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The capital still needs a water and a sewer system. Meanwhile the country still struggles with the largest outbreak of cholera in the world after the earthquake traced to a Nepalese U. N. Peacekeeping unit. The electricity system still needs to be repaired. In the interim, the capital is supplied for 10 hours a day with electricity. So far 18 million has been spent on addressing this problem. Most was spent on a power plant for an industrial park in Caracol in the north. The biggest employment generation program has been to date is a plant for garment manufacturing located there.
Fifty percent of the 1.8 billion pledged amount remains in the United States. It has been realized the quake underscored the Haitian dysfunctionality. In September of 2012 the Haitian Prime Minister indicated a new era with his announcement of a reconstruction commission to replace the defunct interim body established in the earthquakes wake.
The World Bank serves as trustee of the multi-donor Haiti reconstruction Fund and is one of the main donors in its own right. Officials reported that since June 2010, it has mobilized 396 million. Of that amount, 274 million have been allocated for 17 projects identified by the government. But since the two year mandate of the interim commission expired in October 2011, reconstruction has stalled. The government has failed to identify programs for which spending can be approved. Currently about 120 million remains out of an initial portfolio of 551 million. However, once the funds are used up the test is what will be there to show decades from now. Billions spent in decades before the quake have left little of a permanent nature with the influx of cash.
But, there is some good news. Tentative drilling has discovered copper, gold and silver reserves in the mountain range in the northeast. It has been estimated the value is approximately USD 20 billion. The full worth, jointly held with the Dominican Republic, is an estimated 23 million ounces potentially valued at about USD 40 billion. Actual mining it is said shall commence in five years.
The boost would be welcome to government with an annual budget of USD 1 billion. Especially since over 50 percent of this amount is from foreign donors. This mineral wealth casts some hope for the ten million Haitians, a good part of whom do not earn more than 1.25 USD a day. They deserve to see their lives improved. A government that wisely manages Haiti reconstruction projects will serve the population well.
The U. S. Government has already spent USD 1.3 billion on rescuing vulnerable lives. Yet when the goals shifted after three months to laying the groundwork complications took over. Provision for 1.8 billion in funds for rebuilding has been made. But two years since the earthquake, observers see partial progress.
The improvements include achieving half of the needed rubble removal. Repair of damaged residences and relocation of more than one million from tents have been salutary achievements. However, approximately 370,000 remain in tents according to the estimate of the U. N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The capital still needs a water and a sewer system. Meanwhile the country still struggles with the largest outbreak of cholera in the world after the earthquake traced to a Nepalese U. N. Peacekeeping unit. The electricity system still needs to be repaired. In the interim, the capital is supplied for 10 hours a day with electricity. So far 18 million has been spent on addressing this problem. Most was spent on a power plant for an industrial park in Caracol in the north. The biggest employment generation program has been to date is a plant for garment manufacturing located there.
Fifty percent of the 1.8 billion pledged amount remains in the United States. It has been realized the quake underscored the Haitian dysfunctionality. In September of 2012 the Haitian Prime Minister indicated a new era with his announcement of a reconstruction commission to replace the defunct interim body established in the earthquakes wake.
The World Bank serves as trustee of the multi-donor Haiti reconstruction Fund and is one of the main donors in its own right. Officials reported that since June 2010, it has mobilized 396 million. Of that amount, 274 million have been allocated for 17 projects identified by the government. But since the two year mandate of the interim commission expired in October 2011, reconstruction has stalled. The government has failed to identify programs for which spending can be approved. Currently about 120 million remains out of an initial portfolio of 551 million. However, once the funds are used up the test is what will be there to show decades from now. Billions spent in decades before the quake have left little of a permanent nature with the influx of cash.
But, there is some good news. Tentative drilling has discovered copper, gold and silver reserves in the mountain range in the northeast. It has been estimated the value is approximately USD 20 billion. The full worth, jointly held with the Dominican Republic, is an estimated 23 million ounces potentially valued at about USD 40 billion. Actual mining it is said shall commence in five years.
The boost would be welcome to government with an annual budget of USD 1 billion. Especially since over 50 percent of this amount is from foreign donors. This mineral wealth casts some hope for the ten million Haitians, a good part of whom do not earn more than 1.25 USD a day. They deserve to see their lives improved. A government that wisely manages Haiti reconstruction projects will serve the population well.
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