The road

As I have stated previously, the Presidential elections will be held on the 28th November. There are almost 20 candidate vying for the top job in Haiti but what is of greater interest to me is how events revolving around Port-au-Prince affect provincial towns such as Leogane.

One has also to remember that this is hardly the only contest of import going on in Haiti at the moment. As I wrote in my last post, the civil servants of the Civil Protection Authority (DPC), whose role is to coordinate emergency relief for its people, are also up for ‘re-election’ by their association with Rene Preval and his hand-picked successor, Jude Celestin. Patronage is a crucial facet of the Haitian state and the need in election year to demonstrate an ability to finesse concrete improvements out of NGOs and the Haitian state is vital for their survival.

Last week the bridge connecting one of the large NGOs in Leogane to the city was destroyed as a protest by the citizenry. Since the earthquake, the government has failed to resurface or level any of the roads. This is an acute situation felt daily by the residents. The trucks make it worse and the lack of drainage fills the holes with rainwater, creating a quagmire that leads to extensive disruption. At least either by mototaxi, on foot or by 4x4 this is manageable. However, when as a protest the people collapse a small bridge connecting the city to the more provincial areas where three or four NGOs live, including ourselves, this becomes an unmanageable issue.

A solution was found at a meeting chaired by our organization to reconstruct the bridge with NGO money and local contributions. In addition, the community ought to provide some volunteer work for the process. Never wishing to be accused of cynicism, I wait with intrigue for donations and volunteers to materialise.

What is certain is the project will be completed under the auspices of the mayoralty, thus ensuring they take the credit for what was essentially a protest by the people.  I welcome the protest, so long as it is peaceful and achieves results; however, this adroit piece of vandalism by the community put the NGO community in an unmanageable position. The NGOs had no option other than to succumb to political pressure.

It is an uncomfortable place to be kicked around like a political football between the people and its representatives. On the positive side, we should now receive better access to the centre. However, I can’t say that I look forward to further examples of international cooperation on infrastructure in Leogane.