HAITI! Problems and Solutions, at least in my view!
By: Kalolo Engineer, NTK contributor

Today, our beloved HAITI is facing many problems. Way too many in my view! Broke! No enforceable rule of law! No infrastructures! A booming population despite all the natural disasters that struck the country in the last decade! An ecological disaster in its final stage! Literally, Haiti looks like a cancer patient at the final stages of his/her sickness where there is no hope, where there is no further treatment available, and just some morphine to help ease the pain until sadly die in a relative peaceful manner. This is the way most people, Haitians as well as foreigners, see the country today. Is there any hope for a better tomorrow?

Let us take a look in a few countries around the world to analyze historically what’s been happening. Israel, for instance, just a desert and a salty lake in the Dead Sea, and fortunately inhabited by a very resilient people which became in less than a century the strongest and most feared nation in the Middle-East. They have made very significant progresses in the areas of science, agriculture, aeronautic medicine, and much more. Closer to us in the Caribbean, Bahamas that once was without drinking water, no agriculture, and just rocks and coral reef, they have become a very attractive touristic destination for many people around the world. Now they are living off their coral wealth and their well-advertised tourism. In both cases, it’s the people and their responsible leaders who have contributed to transform and to overcome all odds for making their respective countries a proud and respected nation. They have developed the skills of patience, planning, creative-thinking, and togetherness. Can we duplicate in Haiti?


We see and hear what we have not for decades happening in Haiti nowadays. There seems to be a progressive agenda put to place by Haiti current leaders. In other words, there are new prospects, new projects, and a solid desire to at least start something. The questions we should be asking ourselves are: Are they doing the right thing? How much planning is involved? Who are the deciders-in-chief? From a scientific point of view, it must be said that some of the actions or programs that have been taken placed can be effective while others are simply not. It remains to be seen how all the above actions and programs will translate into transformational and fundamental changes to our beloved Haiti, where the country will reclaim its original name: “La Perle des Antilles.” We need to start somewhere, don’t we? Let me give a couple of examples:


1. Electricity should be the number one priority because it can be implemented without costly and lengthy infrastructure investments. Judging from our geographic density, first, we are just less than half of a little islands without rivers the size of Canadian rivers to produce cheap electricity. Second, we don’t have all the Iceland volcanic activities to exploit as they do with all their geothermic potential or resources. Our choice can be either, unfortunately, the high priced of “fossil thermal power plants” if we want to offer the strict minimum to potential investors, or developing a solar-panel industry to bring electricity and all its benefits to our remote areas before any power line can reach them. It’s a choice that we have to make. Who’s brave enough to spark the fire of self-sustainable economic liberty and freedom for our Haiti?


2. Repairing our destroyed environment is the next priority because current ecologic condition overshadows all other development efforts, from agriculture to education, etc... With less than 2% of vegetation left in a mountainous country, we’re losing or have already lost our rivers. We now have ravines where rainy waters come down from the mountains uncontrollably with rocks and mud threatening our roads, our bridges, our houses, and our lives. Then, all those debris fill our beaches and coral reefs with gravel and mud, which in turn make many projects unfortunately impossible to accomplish or to last for a long time. In such environment, most of the money that have been invested in roads, bridges, airports, and even in some of our most beautiful beaches are, in my view, money not well invested because it is simply, as I said, investment to be lost buried under meters of gravel and mud if not carried away by furious flood waters. How to fix such system? It requires long term planning, great engineering, great vision, patience, patriotism, a better agricultural and educational system, forestation, leadership, and all of us to stick to our core value of wanting our country to once again prosper and to attract other nation to invest respectfully, without diminishing the dignity of our proud nation. The only problem is that we have issues that require 30-50 years of strategic planning to solve, while our politicians, even those acting in good faith, are thinking within their 5-years constitutional mandate. Indeed, they don’t have many other options, do they? What type of changes should we visualize? Systematic! Constitutional! Transformational! Or stick to what seems to have not been working! In fact, there is no more room to postpone the necessary changes for Haiti to prosper. Period! In other words, Haiti can no longer afford this. My friends! Embrace yourself to engage because Nou Tout Konekte.

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Haiti: Some of its many problems and solutions!