Haitian President Preval bemoans lack of coordination in aid relief

Port-au-Prince- Haitian President Rene Preval on Friday criticized a lack of coordination among countries bringing aid to the Caribbean nation in the wake of the January 12 earthquake. Many donor nations were helping with "all good intentions" but "without coordination," Preval said after a meeting in Port-au-Prince with Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.

He said countries such as Germany, the United States and France were channeling their assistance through their own institutions and bypassing the Haitian government, which is seeking to coordinate the efforts.

Preval noted that Haiti was hit by the devastating earthquake when it still had not recovered from four destructive cyclones, and said now is the time to decentralize the country's development with regional infrastructure.

Preval rejected the "logic of the republic of Port-au-Prince," and called for roads, ports, airports and jobs in the provinces to slow the rate of internal migration to the capital, which had swelled to 3 million inhabitants when the quake hit.

"We are not talking about reconstruction, but about construction," he said.

"Decentralization means to reinforce local authorities, transfer administrative activities," Preval said, but noted that Haiti's constitution mandates that Port-au-Prince remain the capital.

The death toll from the quake is still be counted. Preval mentioned 170,000 dead, but other government sources said the toll was more than 180,000 and could still increase.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/306646,haitian-president-preval-bemoans-lack-of-coordination-in-aid-relief.html.