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By JACQUELINE CHARLES | McClatchy Newspapers • Published July 30, 2008
The $74 million contract to pave the rutted highway in Haiti's Central Plateau region should have been signed last month. American investors should be pouring in after Congress gave the ailing textile industry a boost. And a third of the Haitian Senate should have been elected by now.
Instead, Haiti remains paralyzed by almost four months of political gridlock that is costing the impoverished nation millions in foreign aid, badly needed jobs and investments and priceless time.
Efforts to end the stalemate stalled Wednesday after several senators failed to show up to vote on economist Michele Pierre-Louis' nomination to become prime minister. Haiti has been without a prime minister since April 12 when food riots led to the firing of Jacques-Edouard Alexis and his government.
"We are in a situation that is extremely critical in this country," said Michel Clerie, the Haitian senator tasked with leading the commission on Pierre-Louis' ratification. "The government cannot pay employees, the cost of food is going up, the price of gas is increasing."
Clerie said at least 12 senators favor Pierre-Louis. But the failure of three lawmakers from two major political parties to show up prevented a quorum in the 18-member chamber. At issue are disagreements between President Rene Preval and the political parties over their role in the future government.
As politicians haggle, Haitians continue to suffer: Prices of public transportation and gas have risen, revenues have fallen and jobs are harder to find. Meanwhile, aid agencies complain that holdups at government ports are delaying the rationing of donated food.
Even foreign diplomats are frustrated.
"It's a governing challenge because ... it basically impacts our ability to have confidence in the implementation of our programs," Jose Cardenas, acting assistant administrator in the Latin America and Caribbean Bureau of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told South Florida Haitians during a recent Miami visit.
One glaring casualty: the indefinite postponement of an April 24 donors' conference in Port-au-Prince. Haiti had hoped to receive millions - some estimate as much as $100 million - in additional foreign aid.
"Whether it's $10 million they have lost because the international community has not been comfortable with committing approved funding, or $100 million, there is no question tens of millions of dollars have been delayed by this," said Mark Schneider of the International Crisis Group, a nonprofit that analyzes conflict in Haiti and elsewhere around the world.
"Haiti can't afford to stand still," Schneider said. "Haiti has to move forward; otherwise the people begin to lose confidence that anything will change."
Another casualty is elections for one-third of the Haitian Senate.
"Critical steps toward holding elections are currently on hold until the government impasse is resolved. Even if Parliament passes pending elections legislation, the caretaker government cannot implement the new legislation, which will further postpone elections," said Velia M. De Pirro, director of Caribbean Affairs, U.S. State Department.
De Pirro said U.S. officials worry about what the lack of government means for Haiti's development.
"While aid may continue to flow, we remain concerned by what this means for the people of Haiti as a whole to not have functioning democratic institutions," she said.
The Inter-American Development Bank has similar concerns. Although its recently financed 23 projects in Haiti are on schedule, spokesman Peter Bate said "were the impasse to continue, delays could crop up because there are key decisions that can only be taken by a new government."
The Senate will make another go at Pierre-Louis' ratification Thursday afternoon, and supporters are hoping it happens. She is Preval's third nominee and was ratified by the lower chamber two weeks ago. Under Haiti's Constitution, Pierre-Louis would need to return for a second round of voting after being ratified - this time with her political agenda and cabinet. She will need 16 of the 18 Senate votes.
"We don't have leadership in this country," said Youri Latortue, a Senate leader who supports Pierre-Louis. "We are going to pursue the fight to have a government in this country, things are very difficult. People are hungry, they are starving and they don't have a government to help them get a job or put programs in place to help them."
(Miami Herald staff writer Trenton Daniel contributed to this report.)
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