Haiti: Where will all the money go?
January 17th, 2010 . by TexasFredHaiti: Where will all the money go?
WASHINGTON (AP) - How difficult will it be for the United States and other donors to track the millions of dollars in earthquake aid headed to Haiti? U.S. government auditors pulled out of the country years ago after concerns over kidnappings and other crimes scuttled their efforts to monitor Haiti’s spending of $45 million in U.S. aid after storms there killed thousands.
Corruption, theft, violence and other security problems and Haiti’s sheer shortage of fundamentals - reliable roads, telephone and power lines and a sound financial system - will add to the challenges of making sure aid is spent properly as foreign governments and charities try not only to help Haiti recover from this week’s devastating earthquake but to pull itself out of abject poverty.
Past efforts haven’t been easy. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, faced problems on a smaller scale in 2005 and 2006 as auditors tried to review the use of roughly $45 million in aid the U.S. provided after Tropical Storm Jeanne struck Haiti in September 2004, killing more than 2,000 people, injuring more than 2,600 and affecting an estimated 300,000 others.
The inspectors wanted to visit projects funded with the money to measure progress. But after an initial fact-finding trip to Haiti, it was considered too dangerous for them to go back. They could visit only projects deemed safe as destinations. In summer 2005, many employees of the Agency for International Development - which is coordinating the current U.S. response to the earthquake - were temporarily pulled out of Haiti, according to government reports.
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Haiti: Where will all the money go?
I think we all know that the MSM generally tilts to the left and tends to take a bleeding heart stance on most topics. It surprises me that the MSM, especially the Associated Press would run with a story so critical, and truthful, concerning the government of Haiti.
Haiti is one of the poorest places on Earth. Most basic public services are lacking, people typically live on less than $2 a day, nearly half the population is illiterate and the government has a history of instability. The public has little opportunity to be sure that aid to the government is used honestly and well. Nor is following the money easy for donors, including the United States, 700 miles away and one of the country’s biggest helpers.
Give, give, give, and then, give some more. There’s an old saying, ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. TEACH a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime!’ but I have to wonder, are the people of Haiti willing to LEARN and better themselves or are they simply content to sit back and take charity?
I am not a charity person. I don’t believe in helping those that will NOT help themselves. I am of the belief that you can help a person with a hand UP but a hand-out does nothing to make a lasting and positive solution.
“It has been a challenge, and I think it really is one of the things we have to look at when the country has had such long-standing problems that it seems as though we have made little dent there,” said Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-Mo., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s subcommittee on international organizations, human rights and oversight.
The immediate focus is search and rescue and addressing immediate public health needs. But after that, “I think there’s going to be a number of questions that arise,” Carnahan said.
Russ Carnahan is right on the money, no pun intended. Our efforts haven’t made a dent in the basic life of the Haitians. I doubt it ever will. I also agree that search and rescue are the most immediate issues. The time is rapidly approaching when rescue is a moot point and a waste of time, the efforts will soon turn to recovery of bodies.
