Washington calls Haiti’s Parliament singularly unproductive

Thomas Adams

HCNN, Oct. 24, 2013

By Joe Colas

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (HCNN) — The United-States government has called on Haitian lawmakers to pass a number of key laws likely to facilitate development goals in Haiti, calling the Caribbean country’s current legislature singularly unproductive.

The special Coordinator for Haiti at the State Department, Thomas C. Adams, said earlier this month that Haitian lawmakers were not voting enough laws that could help the country cope with modern development and investments challenges.

“The Haitian Parliament has been singularly unproductive this last year, passing something like 9 laws in total,” Adams told US lawmakers during a recent hearing session at the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in Washington.

“Obviously, they need to pick up the game,” he said. “Haiti needs a new anti-corruption law, they need laws to allow for electronic signatures and better business practices,” Adams stated.

The US special envoy for Haiti also called on Parliament to pass several other laws to facilitate the establishment of new businesses in the Caribbean country with a high rate of unemployment and where most people live on less than 2 dollars per day.

“They need laws to make it easier to register a new business, they need laws to make it easier to get a construction permit, and I can keep going on and on,” explained Adams.

The US diplomat mentioned the need for the executive branch and Parliament to better cooperate in order to achieve common objectives, in the benefit of the Haitian people.

The US government, through the USAID, has been funding a program to help Parliament build capacity, among other programs.

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2 thoughts on “Washington calls Haiti’s Parliament singularly unproductive

  1. Unproductive? Nooooooooo. Really? they need to pass anti-corruption laws? They are corruption in its self. They should be unicameral. It is proven that multi-party systems, extremely democratize government are hard to come into agreements. In Haiti its democratize to bring in as many polithievecians as possible so they get paid. They, however, don’t follow democratic laws. Starting with the constitution.

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