June 30, 2023
The Government of Haiti and the World Bank Representation in Haiti held the annual meeting on the performance of the portfolio of projects financed by the World Bank on Wednesday, June 28, 2023. This meeting was an opportunity for the stakeholders to openly discuss the main obstacles that hinder the implementation of the projects but also to identify together alternatives that could promote their execution despite the unstable socio-political context.
“It is important to find solutions together to the problems identified, which is why the matrix of recommendations at the end of this session will be the subject of constant monitoring with a view to strengthening the country’s absorption capacity in putting these funds allocated to Haiti for the benefit of the most vulnerable , ” said Michel Patrick Boisvert, Minister of Economy and Finance . “The government is committed to establishing coordination on a regular basis with the project implementation units in order to circumvent bottlenecks with a view to establishing a culture of performance to promote diligent and successful implementation of projects. “.
In addition to the security context which considerably slowed down the implementation of certain project activities, the various actors and project managers reported that the economic instability, the socio-political crisis, the difficulties of travel on the territory, the reluctance of foreign companies coming to work in Haiti, the massive departure of the executives of certain public institutions, the limitations of the country’s banking system, inflation, the scarcity of petroleum products are among the disturbing elements which have caused an extension of the execution times.
“In terms of results and in the extremely difficult context that we are experiencing, with cycles of unpredictable violence, annual disbursements have collapsed from 25% for the previous fiscal year to less than 11% this year,” said Laurent . Msellati, head of World Bank operations in Haiti . “Together, we must learn from projects that have successfully met their annual targets and apply them to the entire portfolio in order to catch up on the delays recorded and to ensure that the IDA funds allocated to Haiti will benefit as quickly as possible. to those who need it most, in particular to respond to food insecurity and to accelerate the implementation of the Integrated Recovery Program for the Southern Peninsula (PRIPS)”.
Indeed, despite the deleterious context, the Haitian government has been able to identify innovative solutions to carry out targeted activities, particularly in the southern peninsula. The construction of a temporary bridge over the Grand’Anse river has restored connectivity to the 400,000 inhabitants of the department. At the same time, the rehabilitation of agricultural infrastructure has enabled more than 64,000 producers to increase their capacities; more than 4,000 of the 24,000 eligible vulnerable households received a monetary lump sum for the repair of their habitats following climatic and geological events. To strengthen human capital, school and health infrastructures have been rebuilt or rehabilitated, followed by donations of materials to promote their full operation.
“At the level of the Ministry of Social Affairs, we had to reorient the Adaptive Social Protection Project for Increased Resilience (PSARA) after the August 14 earthquake so that it is better adapted to the needs of the population. Other actions are underway, including cooperation to develop support measures for households containing people with disabilities ,” said Odney Pierre Ricot, Minister of Social Affairs and Labour . “While it is true that we fell behind at the end of 2022, we have worked hard over the past six months to accelerate the implementation of the project. In addition, to ensure greater effectiveness of donor funding, there needs to be a strengthening of the sectoral articulation of projects and synergy between projects and the new programmatic framework. »
The annual review of the performance of the Portfolio of Projects financed by the World Bank was organized under the leadership of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Michel Patrick Boisvert, and the Head of World Bank Operations, Laurent Msellati. Several ministers and representatives of sectoral ministries including the ministries of public health; Interior and local authorities; Public Works, Transport and Communication; National Education; Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development; Social and Labor Affairs; Commerce and Industries; Planning and External Cooperation; Environment and Tourism took part in this series of discussions.
The World Bank’s portfolio in Haiti includes 18 active projects for a total commitment amount of US$ 1.25 billion. It will be completed during the next fiscal year with two new operations totaling US$ 62 million, including US$ 12 million for additional financing for the Caribbean Regional Air Transport Connectivity Project (CATCOP) and an envelope of US$ 50 million which will be devoted to a new project in the sector of governance and public services.