Caricom Slams Commision for Haiti Reconstruction

Caricom Slams Commision for Haiti Reconstruction Santo Domingo, Dec. 15. -The Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) has shown a lack of results, according to the Caribbean Community representative Percival Patterson.

Patterson, former Jamaican Prime Minister, said the Haitian people cannot continue waiting and living under such conditions, referring to the 1.3 million people surviving in tents since the devastating January earthquake.

In a Tuesday evening speech at the 4th meeting of the IHRC, held at the Hilton Hotel in the Dominican capital, Patterson noted that the cholera epidemic in Haiti has killed over 2,200 and infected over 93,000.

Patterson also complained of the slow pace of rubble clean-up, and deplored that the commission set October 2011 as the deadline for the clean-up of only 40 percent of the rubble.

Patterson recalled that the commission will conclude its 18-month mandate in October 2011. Some funds are not being spent, and there is a lack of transparency in contracts for some projects, he added.

He also slammed the lack of urgency in reconstruction plans, and said the minutes of commission meetings do not fully reflect the contributions and suggestions of its members.

Haitian government representatives also expressed their discontent over a lack of contact with the commission's executive secretariat. (Prensa Latina)