What looks like an essential new blog, Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Watch, "will keep track of current efforts at relief and reconstruction with an eye towards ensuring that such efforts are oriented toward the most urgent and important needs of the Haitian people, and that aid is not used to undermine Haitians' right to self-determination." It's being done by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, whose co-directors are Dean Baker (he of the excellent blog on economic reporting, Beat the Press) and Mark Weisbrot. Very righteous and needed, if you think the key to reconstruction, heck construction, is democracy and sovereignty. The most recent two posts are . . .
Haitian Voices Missing, focusing on today’s Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on Haiti reconstruction, where the President of American Jewish World Service, Ruth Messinger, said that while she was happy the hearing was being held and that the witnesses to be called had important information to relay, (emphasis added) "I am disappointed that the witness list is devoid of Haitian voices. Haiti's reconstruction should be led by Haitians."
The previous blog post begins:
On Debt and the IMF
Thursday, 04 February 2010 14:36
In 2008 the United Nations Human Rights council named Mr. Cephas Lumina as an independent expert on the effect of foreign debt. Today Mr. Lumina called for an immediate cancellation of debt for Haiti and directly addressed the International Monetary Fund's decision to issue a $114 million loan:
"The extension of Haiti's loan programme in circumstances where the IMF acknowledges the country's high risk of debt distress, and particularly in view of the fact that the country's economy has collapsed and its debt service capacity is non-existent, runs counter to the IMF's own advice and is profoundly inappropriate."
. . .
Lumina and the blog then ask, understanding that the IMF has never done it before, why can't its latest loan commitment be turned into a grant? Great question, great idea!
By the way,
Haiti currently owes about US$890 million to international creditors. Approximately 70 per cent of its total external debt is owed to multilateral creditors, mainly the Inter-American Development Bank (41 per cent) and the World Bank (27 per cent).
In any case, follow along. I believe the Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Watch may help us all be vigilant this time, that the U.S. and the IMF don't stand in the way of Haiti's economic recovery and development.