In a statement the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (IHRC) informs that its Office of Performance Anticorruption (PAO) has started its operations since past March 14. The PAO will play a key role within the Commission by implementing tools and mechanisms to ensure that transactions are transparent and ethically exemplary and continually improving. The CPO is directed by Dr. Pedro J. Roballo, a Certified Public Accountant with an MBA degree and a career that took him from Uruguay to Switzerland, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Sudan.

At the meeting of 28 February, the two co-chairs of the IHRC, the Prime Minister Bellerive and President Clinton had announced that an independent firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was selected after a thorough process to provide technical support to the new office. The PAO will be involved throughout the project life cycle in three essential functions within the IHRC:

• Promoting transparency and accountability in the project life cycle and internal processes;

• Identifying the challenges of implementation, barriers and successes and communicate through appropriate channels, and

• Contributing to strengthening the capacity of the Government of Haiti to monitor and evaluate the range of development activities currently underway.

Since its inception in June 2010, IHRC has approved 87 projects worth about 3.255 billion dollars (U.S. $ 3.255.000.000) Thanks to the operations of the PAO, the IHRC will be able to review and evaluate more direct and more efficient project status and monitor their performance against established objectives, to ensure the success of development projects and reconstruction.

"Transparency is critical to the HRIC", said executive director, Gabriel Verret. I am pleased to now have on board the new team of PAO, which will be supported by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the firm pioneered the field of monitoring of development projects and reconstruction.

About the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission

The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) was created by presidential decree on April 21, 2010, in the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti on January 12, 2010. The mission of the IHRC is to undertake the expeditious planning, coordination, and facilitation of development projects and priorities, including reviewing and approving projects and programs funded by bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs and the private sector. The IHRC is co-chaired by Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive and President Bill Clinton and is guided by a Board, which includes Haitian and non-Haitian stakeholders in reconstruction efforts.

HL/ HaïtiLibre