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Haiti - Economy : Michel Martelly would like obtain loans for Haiti
28/04/2011 13:28:27
The President Martelly has indicated Tuesday that he had asked to the international financial institutions (IDB, World Bank and IMF) to grant new loans to Haiti in order to boost the economy "A country can not revive its economy with donations [...] no country in the world can obtain economic growth without access to loans" had declared the elected President, who recognizes that Haiti, after the cancellation of its debts, falls into the category of insolvent... We do not know the position of international financial institutions in response to requests from President Martelly.
Reacting to these remarks, the economist Eddie Labossiere, President of the Haitian Association of Economists, thinks that "Michel Martelly has been very badly advised [...] The chances of the next President to obtain new loans are very low" recalling that the decision to no longer grant loans to Haiti had been taken because "the country's inability to honor its commitments" despite these loans had been granted on a long term with a grace period.
Eddy Labossière instead favors a better implementation of fiscal policies to allow the expansion of the tax base of the country, noting that currently "the Haitian state only receives 40% of revenue (ie 36 to 38 billion gourds) that it should receive". The economist believes that with good tax policy and the allocation to the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI) of adequate resources, it is possible to double this amount. In addition it recommends a reduction of ministerial portfolios in the next government, stressing that "there are government departments that absorb a lot of money without actually being effective."
For its part, the economist Camille Charlmers, Executive Secretary of the Haitian Advocacy Platform for Alternative Development (PAPDA) argues "whether grants or loans, they are instruments used to control and guide the national economic policies and foster a type of economic policy that is in the interests of major powers." In other words, Chalmers proposes that Haiti generates its own income, to ensure its functioning, the services to the population and its development.
HL/ HaitiLibre
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