Written by Stephen Robbins
Edited by Daniel Kwak
Researched by Stephen Robbins and Brady Iandiorio
Managing Editor: Jennifer Hill

Americans have donated more than one billion dollars to relief efforts in Haiti since the January 12th earthquake, with even more pouring in from around the world.

Roslyn Hees from Transparency International has called this sudden influx of money “a perfect storm for high corruption risk.” The Haitian government, which was considered one of the most corrupt in the world before the earthquake, now finds itself scrapping with hundreds of NGO’s over the incoming funds.

An official rebuilding plan for Haiti is expected to be released sometime this week by a team of international experts and Haitian government officials. This plan, with help from billions of investment dollars, has the potential to put in motion unprecedented and long awaited change in Haiti. If misguided, however, it risks going the way of countless other “fresh starts” and deepening the already well-established roots of cynicism about the island nation’s future.

Corruption

“We should not think of  opposing corruption in Haiti or elsewhere because we are goody-goodies  and  corruption  is sinful. We fight corruption because it hurts what we want to achieve most in society.” –Robert Kiltgaard

Redressing both the corruption and disillusionment of its citizenry will be key to true long-term change in Haiti. Corruption is defined by Transparency International as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain.” While the term may seem broad and anonymous, the practice has a very real and personal effect on the lives of many Haitians. Widespread corruption within the Haitian National Police, for example, leads to prisoner abuse, arbitrary arrests, and rampant bribery, in addition to kidnapping and drug trafficking. Systemic corruption pads the pockets of wealthy at the expense of the destitute, deters investment, and undermines democracy.

The poor often suffer most when governments succumb to corruption. The Haitian Government is notoriously corrupt and well aware of it. Frequent promises of new starts and fresh beginnings are almost always made in reference to changing the government’s corrupt ways. President Rene Preval has declared in the aftermath of the earthquake that he wants “this to be a new country,” one that is “totally different” from the Haiti of January 11th, 2010.  Such promises ring hollow to many Haitians whose cynicism and mistrust of the government is both justified and deeply rooted.

Pre-Earthquake Haiti

Since 1984, world citizens have contributed over $2.6 billion to Haiti, but little has changed. In 2007 Haiti ranked 177th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, despite glowing promises of change and reform in 2004 and 2006 from the Haitian Government. In May and June of 2007, major offensives were once again launched against corruption, accompanied by familiar rhetoric. President Preval declared that those who engage in corruption are “traitors to the nation.” Despite this new resolve, problems with corruption persisted into 2008 and 2009.

While the Haitian Government provides a convenient and often blameworthy target, it is certainly not the only party guilty of corruption in Haiti. So much of the public sector in Haiti has been privatized that citizens must rely on private companies and NGOs for even basic services like clean water and education. Some of the thousands of NGOs in Haiti are predatory in nature, and even those that benefit from much needed oversight have fallen victim to the same corruption that plagues the government. In 2009, for example, the Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network complained that food and supplies donated by the United States Agency for International Development (US-AID) reached its intended beneficiaries only after much hardship and often wound up for sale in the marketplace.

Some NGOs challenge the very definition of “non-governmental.” US-AID and other governmental bureaucracies provide up to 70 percent of NGO funding, while the other 30 percent comes from corporate and individual contributions. Peter Hallward, a Canadian Political Philosopher who has written extensively on Haiti, argues that “the bulk of USAID money that goes to Haiti and to other countries in the region is explicitly designed to pursue interests–the promotion of a secure investment climate, the nurturing of links with local business elites, the preservation of a docile and low-wage labor force, and so on.”

After the Quake

The divide between the public and private sector has grown since the earthquake. In fact, for every dollar donated to relief efforts, the Haitian government will only see one penny. This is mostly due to widespread distrust of the Haitian Government. However, this underfunding for fear of corruption has only served to weaken the already shaken and fragile government. Meanwhile, the trust in private entities to carry out relief work has often been misplaced. Fresh graffiti in Port-au-Prince reads, “Down with NGO thieves!” Many of these NGOs operate with even less oversight than the Haitian Government, and mostly watch out for their own interests rather than the people they purport to serve.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, several groups sought to take advantage of the outpouring of financial support for Haiti. Wyclef Jean, a Haitian born rapper, came under fire when reports were released showing in years past his non-profit organization, Yele was used primarily for things like a recording studio in New York. Meanwhile, as donations from the United States came flooding in, credit card companies felt that charging a three percent transaction fee was appropriate, even though three percent went above and beyond their actual costs.

Not to be outdone, the Haitian Government recently began reviewing all imports to prevent businesses from getting goods into the country tax-free. Those picking up goods like food and tents now face the choice of paying a large tax to have the goods released, or awaiting government approval. As over a million people still await shelter, red tape and mysterious “taxes” like these hinder the flow of aid and hurt those who are in the greatest need of help.

Fighting Corruption with the Law

The most powerful international corruption laws come from the UN’s Convention Against Corruption. The Convention entered into force in December of 2005 and was ratified by Haiti just six months ago. A large part of the Convention is dedicated to prohibiting certain types of behavior in member states. Offenses like money laundering, bribery, and embezzlement are included. Haitian law, in accordance with the Convention Against Corruption, contains penalties for many of these acts. In December of 2009, Haitian authorities helped crack a high profile corruption case against Jean Rene Duperval, a former Haitian telecommunications official. Still, Corruption by its very definition does not bend easily to laws or constitutions, and Haiti is no exception. Most officials who engage in corruption do so with immunity as the government lacks the resources, or the political will, to prosecute.

Another valuable tool in the fight against corruption is Transparency International’s Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Disasters handbook. The handbook was developed after the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as millions of the dollars raised never reached intended beneficiaries. This guide is useful for well-intentioned organizations who are looking to avoid dangerous pitfalls in raising money and distributing aid.

Even though The Convention Against Corruption is binding upon ratifying nations, without a UN enforcement mechanism in place, it serves as more of a series of strong suggestions. Still, the Convention can be a useful guide and tool in the reconstruction of Haiti, so long as a strong and accountable Haitian Government is in place to enact and enforce. The Convention, though ground breaking and influential in its own right, will serve little purpose without serious change in the governing and political culture of Haiti.

Meanwhile, developing and nurturing such a government will prove difficult so long as relief and reconstruction dollars are pumped into private and international organizations, leaving the government by the wayside. Immediately handing over billions of dollars to a notoriously corrupt and earthquake-battered government certainly would not have been prudent. However, in moving forward it would be equally imprudent to allow the same broken model to continue in Haiti, where a weak and unstable government plays second fiddle to a host of foreign interests and NGOs.

Fight Corruption From the Grassroots Up

Corruption is not inevitable in Haiti. Rather, as the forward to the Convention Against Corruption states, it is like an “insidious plague,” one that must be aggressively treated and guarded against in the future. An important part of this treatment will be the chipping away of the cynicism of the Haitian people through action and empowerment. Often times these are the people who can best identify the kinds of corruption affecting their daily lives. The Inspector General’s office of the Haitian National Police set up toll free lines to accept citizen complains of police misbehavior in 2008. Complaints were reportedly followed by investigations, and sometimes, disciplinary action. Programs like these represent a small step in the right direction. Still, further steps must be taken to restore the people’s confidence in their government and system of justice.

Today millions of Haitians are suffering, not only because of a powerful natural disaster, but because their rights have taken a back seat to foreign interests and systemic corruption for many years. As millions anxiously await the official rebuilding plan, we once again find ourselves talking about a fresh start. Will this plan make human rights and the empowering of the Haitian people the foundation in Haiti? Will systemic corruption be aggressively treated like the plague that it is? Only time will tell whether the will to create a new Haiti exists and a fresh start is realized.