By Trenton Daniel, The Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Too many foreign charities are working in Haiti without supervision and need to provide more information about their activities so the government can better manage earthquake reconstruction, the prime minister said Thursday.
Foreign non-governmental organizations, which piled into Haiti after the devastating January 2010 quake, are often duplicating services provided by the government or competing with it for international aid money, Prime Minister Jean-Max-Bellerive said.
“We need them today,” Bellerive told reporters at a conference to discuss how to speed up the stalled reconstruction effort. “But I need to know how much money they receive and from where.”
There are an estimated 10,000 humanitarian groups working in Haiti, so many the country was sometimes called the Republic of NGOs even before the earthquake. Haitian officials have long criticized foreign groups for offering higher salaries that lure talented people away from government jobs.
Foreign charities provide many vital services, including medical treatment and education for hundreds of thousands of Haitians who would otherwise have no access to either. Some aid workers are reluctant to work with the government, which many perceive as corrupt and inefficient.
Bellerive said the government is working on legislation that would force foreign groups to register and provide more information about their activities and finances.
“We have some procedures that we are proposing, that could be put in place to better control them,” he said.
The prime minister, who is the co-chairman with former U.S. President Bill Clinton of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, is scheduled to end his term in office May 14, when a new president takes power.
Michel “Sweet Micky” Martelly, who was elected president according to preliminary results released Monday, said during his campaign that he also supports efforts to require more accountability from foreign aid groups.
Bellerive met Wednesday in private with Martelly’s advisers. The prime minister said they discussed the upcoming hurricane season, plans to improve education and the role of NGOs in Haiti. He rebuffed a question about whether he could serve again as prime minister under Martelly.
Where has this guy been.
All this time he has been Prime Minister and now, that his government is finished, he thinks ONGs should be controlled!!!
And this is the same man who was caught at the Dominican border, a few hours after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, with a big aluminum suitcase full of $100.00 American bills!! He didn’t know that his own government had closed the border and he was arrested.
Thanks to intervention, by a higher authority, he was released and there was no media coverage.
The man has been a member of the Dominican Secret Service for at least 20 years.
Hope against hope that Martelly finds someone better, but he seems to be favoring an ex-Aristide Justice Minister who was a big player in the cocaine business.
Not a good start.
of course we need them to be honestly doing what they promote to get the money they keep looking abroad on behalf of Haiti. it is not fare to have so many people using the name of Haiti for their nown benefites.
if they are fake,all the goverment has to do is to build the official list and a black list then displayed it on line and submite it to the press. that way it will peace of kckae to imediately identify the fake one and take legal actions against them. everything has to be done according to the law.but, the law must be applied to all,starting from the President leaving ending to the one entering without distinktion.All that have done damage to the country must face their criminal charges.We have good law in Haiti,the only problem is that it is not applied at all.