Is Industrial Park the Answer for Haiti?

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attended the opening of a much-vaunted US-funded industrial park in north Haiti, amid concerns that it could cause environmental damage without bringing lasting economic development.

The $300 million industrial park in the town of Caracol, on Haiti’s northern coast, was funded by the US government and the Inter-American Development Bank. It is meant to create some 65,000 new jobs for local people. Hillary Clinton said that the park represented a “new model for how the international community practices development,” working “with Haiti, not just in Haiti,” and investing in infrastructure and the economy.

President Michel Martelly joined in the celebratory rhetoric, declaring that “Haiti is open for business,” and pledging that his government would do anything it reasonably could to make things easier for investors in the country, as the BBC reports.

The Miami Herald reports that the park was planned under the administration of former President Rene Preval, who was also there at the ceremony and was publicly thanked by current President Michel Martelly. Former US President Bill Clinton, who serves as the UN’s special envoy to Haiti, was in attendance, along with various celebrities, including British entrepreneur Richard Branson and actor Sean Penn.

However, there are serious concerns about the park’s ability to create jobs and bring about a sustainable improvement to the local economy. In June, the Miami Herald reported from the construction site, saying that there was worry that the development would bring slums to the “bucolic but impoverished fishing village” of Caracol, as people in search of work flooded into the area. It said that the government, desperate to show progress, had signed off on the project without making preparations for its long-term development, like zoning plans or environmentla impact assessments. Some 300,000 people are expected to move to the area.

Meanwhile the New York Times reported in July on the 366 farmers who were evicted from their land in order for the park to be built, and on the park's possible threat to the fragile ecosystem of the bay, which has mangrove trees and a coral reef.

Academic Alex Dupuy told the Associated Press that "This is not a strategy that is meant to provide Haiti with any measure of sustainable development ... The only reason those industries come to Haiti is because the country has the lowest wages in the region." Korean clothing manufacturer Sae-A, the anchor tenant of the park, will pay workers $5 for eight hours of work. The NYT notes that Sae-A closed down a key factory in Guatemala last year over disputes with a labor union, and was accused of using violence and repressive tactics against unionists.

Hillary Clinton helped broker the Sae-A deal, which includes tax exemptions, and the AP notes that “The stakes are high in large part because the Clintons have been so heavily involved,” with Hillary’s chief of staff making near-monthly visits to the site.


News Briefs

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