WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (IPS) – The Haitian government and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed an agreement on an 800,000-dollar campaign to convince wary Haitians that privatisation is good for them.

‘’The money will be used to explain what privatisation does,’’ one USAID official told IPS, noting that the agreement for the campaign accord was signed in Miami earlier this month. It is to go ahead ‘’immediately.’’

Sources here say that talks are underway to employ the services of the Canadian firm, Gervais Gagnon Covington Associates, to carry out the public relations exercise.

The firm’s president, Richard Gervais, told IPS from Montreal that he would prefer not to describe the project as a ‘’campaign.’’ He said he will have more details about the plans early next month.

Other sources indicate that Haitian government officials objected initially to any hard-sell effort that merely pushed privatisation ‘’success stories.’’ Some say the project has been modified to accomodate these concerns. But it is still not clear what the campaign will look like.

Grassroots organisers here and on Haiti are curious about the thrust of the campaign, especially since Haiti’s creditors continue to keep key documents on privatisation plans close to their chests.

The sell-off of nine state enterprises are at the heart of a liberalisation programme to which the Aristide government agreed with international financial institutions (IFIs) and other creditors even before Aristide returned from his three-year exile in Oct, 1994.

As much as one billion dollars from donors, including the United States, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), could be at stake. In October, Washington withheld some critical balance-of-payments support to the government pending its implementation of the privatisation plan.

USAID extended two million dollars to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank affiliate in charge of privatisations, for analyses of the state companies, including the telephone and electricity systems, the flour mill, cement plant, and the seaport and airport in Port-au-Prince.

But the Haitian public and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are still asking to be shown the plans the IFC subsequently designed.

The Washington-based NGO, Development GAP, says it makes little sense for USAID to use scarce development funds to explain or sell privatisation without extensive consultation with Haitians.

‘’Are they going to try to sell the idea, or are they going to explain what privatisation is?’’ asked Lisa McGowan of the Development GAP.

‘’If they want to explain what privatisation is, they don’t need a firm in Montreal. They should just release the IFC documents and invite comments and discussion’’ from Haitian communities said McGowan, who has just returned from Haiti.

In defending the privatisation plans, USAID has argued that Haiti’s private sector has faced ‘’inappropriate competition’’ from the public sector which has been dominated by monopolies which in turn were controlled by a small elite.

Some NGOs agree, but note that now Haiti has a government which may actually be responsive to ordinary people, and not to dictators and wealthy families which have dominated the state since independence from France almost 200 years ago.

‘’Our view is that the question of privatisation has been put forward in a dogmatic and ideological manner,’’ says Jonathan Pitts of the Haitian Platform for Advocacy for an Alternative Development. ‘’All they say is privatisation equals good, and public sector control equals bad.’’

The Platform, based in Port-au-Prince, says it plans to look at the privatisation proposal in terms of a general economic strategy for the country.

Widespread grassroots opposition to the privatisation plans led to Prime Smarck Michel’s resignation in October. Michel, who has been replaced by former foreign minister Claudette Werleigh, complained that he was receiving no support from the parliament for the plans.

The resignation underscored the bitter differences between Aristide, members of his Lavalas movement, and popular organisations on the one hand and the United States and international financial institutions on the other.

The problem is one that President-elect Rene Preval will immediately confront when he steps into office in February. (END/IPS/YJC/JL/95)

Origin: Washington/U.S.-HAITI/ ----

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