Caricom backs President Martelly’s priorities

Caribbean Community (Caricom) has underlined its support for a large-scale housing project in Haiti as proposed by President Michel Martelly to allow some 30,000 persons to return to their neighbourhoods in 16 locations.

The housing project, along with a request for support for 100,000 students to be placed in schools by the September term, was among the major priorities outlined by the Haitian president in his first address to a meeting of the Haiti’s Interim Recovery Commission (IHRC) last week.

Caricom’s statement of support was part of an intervention made at the seventh meeting of the commission by the Special Representative of Caricom on Haiti P J Patterson. The meeting was the first held since the inauguration of President Martelly who had outlined his priorities for the commission prior to Patterson’s intervention.

Patterson also supported the president’s call for a 12-month extension of the mandate of the commission, but stressed the importance of key changes in its modus operandi, among them the need for changes in the arrangements for the submission and approval of projects, more timely circulation of documents to allow for meaningful discussion of issues and recommended that a timetable for the meetings be developed and agreed to by the commission.

Patterson said that there was also need to implement sub-committees, including one on private sector investments, to allow for greater involvement of the commission in project implementation and monitoring.

The Caricom special representative, meanwhile, welcomed the proposed changes in the IHRC method for submission of projects and encouraged the commission to be more involved in project implementation and monitoring consistent with President Martelly’s stated priorities.

He said Caricom remained committed to support initiatives aimed at building Haiti’s institutional capacity, noting that the commitment was renewed at the recent meeting of the heads of government in St Kitts.