Business & Finance

Going against Haitian law, which demands workers be paid a minimum of 300 gourdes for an eight-hour shift, the Council on Salaries (CSS) agreed to raise daily pay to only 225 gourdes.

Outraged members of the Collective of Textile Factory Unions (KOSIT) protested in Port-au-Prince and Ouanaminthe for a 500-gourde daily wage. Textile manufacturers responded acceding to the demands of KOSIT would hinder Haiti from being competitive with Bangladesh, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Tellingly, those countries are infamous for intolerable work conditions and worker abuse.

Avoiding the issue of punitive wages for textile workers, the Association of Haitian Industries asserts, keeping wages extremely low will ". . . help Haiti open up and present itself as a country that is changing and modernizing . . ." To whose benefit?

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The national beer that has twice taken home gold in the 'Lager' category of the World Beer Cup (in 2000 and 2012), Prestige Beer has a new image, said to fit the change a-brewing in fair Haiti. The new look, announced by the producers of the lager, Brasserie Nationale d'Haiti S.A. (Brana), embodies not just a new beginning for the beer and for the country, but also shows off Haiti's past, its heritage and culture, all in one bottle.

According to Prestige Beer brand manager, Laurent Lilavois, the company chose the new image for the strong, youthful look that is both modern and patriotic. Its blue and red theme speaks to progress and modernity, while it harkens to Haitian tradition. He says, it fluently expresses the change Haiti is now, 'open to' while being oriented towards innovation and advancement.

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A trade mission to four cities in Canada took place between November 19 and 23. Within the delegation were those wishing to strengthen the trade relations between Haiti and the North American country. 40 representatives of Haitian businesses and the wider public sector flew to Canada to be part of the effort.

The cities of Ontario, Quebec, Montreal and Ottawa hosted the members of the Haitian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCCI), which had its start nearly ten years ago, and continues to foster good business relations between the two countries. The hope of this trip was to stir up continued interest in the creation of business and partnership opportunities between Canada and Haiti.

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Minister of Interior and Territorial Communities (MICT), Major David Bazile, spoke recently at the occasion of the 3rd edition of the Gouvènman an lakay ou, held in the town of Milot, site of the Sans-Souci Palace, in northern Haiti. Having the mandate of working within the framework of sovereign duty, the MICT continues to help strengthen governance at the local level as well as practicing population supervision.

Bazile announced that, as part of this mandate, the 14 projects carried out last year within the Great North will be followed up by 16 new, major projects by his MICT office for the 2013-2014 year. With a staff of 12,000 the project has seen the town of Milot benefit from 3 of the projects so far, including the creation of new infrastructure to the tune of millions of gourdes.

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Investment and modernization are the two main keywords for economic development in Haiti. However, improving foreign direct investment and creating permanent employment in Haiti is not as simple as it sounds. The real unemployment rate at Haiti was never properly assessed. Among the unemployed, there are many adults who do not have any formal identification documents. There is no exact statistical data on the total size of Haitian labor force.

Many still consider investment in Haiti is a risky proposition. Political climate is not favorable, enacting new law in the country is almost impossible, transparency is rare, cost of transportation and energy is too high, goods remain static in the customs unnecessarily, ports are not work-efficient, and there are many more displeasing reasons.

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Many people might view the established custom of the United States to provide food aid to Haiti as a beneficent act to a struggling country; a selfless act that operates at a loss to the American taxpayer. But the truth is U.S. aid and trade policies may well do more for American farmers than for the average Haitian. In fact, U.S. aid, as Haiti has been experiencing it for the past few years, has done the country, its agricultural sector and its citizens, more harm than good.

Somewhere between 50% and 60% of the population of Haiti rely on their own small farms for subsistence. The practices and policies attached to U.S. Aid food operate in such a way that the livelihoods of farmers and subsequently the Haitian Agricultural Sector are negatively affected. Today, Haiti imports no less than 50% of the food it consumes, making itself America's second largest importer of rice. This problem was detailed in a study done in 2006 that showed that nearly 100,000 people were negatively impacted by the lowering of Haitian chicken, rice and sugar tariffs.

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On December 10, 2013, hundreds of Haitian workers in assembly industries demonstrated in Port-au-Prince to demand 500 gourdes as minimum wage. As it is often the case in Haiti, protest often means violence and as you know, the world is watching, potential investors are watching and as the Martelly-Lamothe is working hard to open the door for business in Haiti, we are once again engaging in self-destructive behaviors.

Mezanmi, fok nou sispan detri tet pa nou oui! Si nou vle payi sa mache, se pa pa violans non ke li prale mache. Si nou vle ke Ayisyem pa ale an Dominikani pou ale fè Rasist Dominikin imilye nou plis, se pa nan kraze brize non!

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Latin America and Caribbean region are both now moving on a path of high economic growth and they are capable to manage risks of economies plummeting for sustaining stable financial economic environment. As per a recent statement of Alejandro Werner, who is the Director of the Western Hemisphere, Department of the International Monetary Fund, although the recovery process in the region is not very fast but has been observed to remain positive.

While attending a forum organized by Latin Trade Group, Alejandro Werner alerted concerned nations to remain prudent. Because there are many obstacles to retard the development-- high fuel prices, slowdown of Chinese economy, changes in U.S. policy which may have negative effect on the region's fragile economy. The countries should recognize good opportunities and reap benefits with right fiscal or monetary measures.

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Should Michel Martelly say: Yap Rablabal, map travail? If you look at the latest data coming from the International Monetary Fund, you would say that he is right.

based on the latest information from the International Monetary Fund, Haiti's gross domestic product grew in the 2013 fiscal year by almost 4 percent. This is preliminary information that will be verified after the entire year is over. This is better than expected as the International Monetary Fund projected the growth at 3.4 percent as late as last June of this year.

Si se konsa, anbin bagay yo pa pi mal!

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Gin yo Proverb Crekol Ki di Le ou en Devain minm Ze kasse Tet ou. Se sa ki rive Whale sa. Yon Gro bet Konsa, Nan Lanme ki arrive kite 2 ti Ayisyen Kembe Li.

This is a big Whale, not the shark that you have heard about. The two Haitian were probably in a "Bya Fouye", a very small, hand made boat

Nan lanwit 20 Novem, 2 Pechè sa yo rive kenbe yon gwo pwason nan lanmè nan moman yo tap peche

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