The devastating earthquake of 2010 which destroyed much of Port-au-Prince killed over 300,000 perished. International donors, led by the United States, pledged billions to renew the country and help breaking its cycle of dependency. But after the immediate initial requirements of relief were taken care of, the recuperation process stalled. Critics said, Haiti reconstruction is essentially a case of arrested development.
U. S. Government had spent USD 1.3 billion on critical rescue operations and saved lives. By the second anniversary one could say there has been mixed progress. After three months, the goal moved from rescue to building a new foundation with what is now a 1.8 billion reconstruction package.
There have been clear improvements as evidenced by the removal of fifty percent of remaining rubble. Damaged residences have seen repairs and more than a million have been relocated from temporary housing in tents. However, the U. N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates approximately three hundred and seventy thousand are still in such housing.
A water or sewer system still needs to be built in the capital, as the country deals with the biggest cholera outbreak in the globe traced to a U. N. Peacekeeping unit from Nepal after the earthquake. Fixing the electricity system is still a work in process. In the meantime, the capital is supplied with electricity for just 10 hours a day. About 18 million has been spent so far on electricity, mostly to build a power plant for an industrial park in the north in Caracol. The largest program for employment so far is a clothing manufacturing plant being built 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.
On another subject, there is good news to report. Drillings have uncovered silver, gold and copper in the mountains in the northeast. Estimated the value of gold deposits is twenty billion. The full bounty, which the Dominican Republic shares, has potential value of forty billion. Mining it is expected to start in five years time.
This would be a welcome source of revenue where an annual budget is one billion USD. Since over fifty percent of this amount is from foreign sources, the boost would be a great boon. This treasure of mineral is a hopeful sign for ten million Haitians, of who most do not have daily earnings exceeding 1.25 USD. They deserve a government that manages Haiti reconstruction aid wisely.
U. S. Government had spent USD 1.3 billion on critical rescue operations and saved lives. By the second anniversary one could say there has been mixed progress. After three months, the goal moved from rescue to building a new foundation with what is now a 1.8 billion reconstruction package.
There have been clear improvements as evidenced by the removal of fifty percent of remaining rubble. Damaged residences have seen repairs and more than a million have been relocated from temporary housing in tents. However, the U. N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimates approximately three hundred and seventy thousand are still in such housing.
A water or sewer system still needs to be built in the capital, as the country deals with the biggest cholera outbreak in the globe traced to a U. N. Peacekeeping unit from Nepal after the earthquake. Fixing the electricity system is still a work in process. In the meantime, the capital is supplied with electricity for just 10 hours a day. About 18 million has been spent so far on electricity, mostly to build a power plant for an industrial park in the north in Caracol. The largest program for employment so far is a clothing manufacturing plant being built 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.
On another subject, there is good news to report. Drillings have uncovered silver, gold and copper in the mountains in the northeast. Estimated the value of gold deposits is twenty billion. The full bounty, which the Dominican Republic shares, has potential value of forty billion. Mining it is expected to start in five years time.
This would be a welcome source of revenue where an annual budget is one billion USD. Since over fifty percent of this amount is from foreign sources, the boost would be a great boon. This treasure of mineral is a hopeful sign for ten million Haitians, of who most do not have daily earnings exceeding 1.25 USD. They deserve a government that manages Haiti reconstruction aid wisely.
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