Transparency International - Haiti Observer Blog

So many moons have passed in the Caribbean nation of Haiti where it was governed by the hands and hearts of corrupt leaders, that a break from the norm sometimes seemed an unattainable dream. Recently, however, a small beam of light has been shed in this dark corner, elucidated by a ranking of the country's corruption rate by Transparency International.

Just since last year, Haiti's prospects have looked up with their ranking in the corruption index published by the organization being two places less than what it was in 2012. Out of 177 ranked countries, Haiti now holds 163rd place, a jump which looks even more propitious when one considers that Haiti has moved up 10 whole places in the last two years from their 2011 spot at 175th. The new position means that Haiti has, at last, ascended from the list of the five most corruption nations.

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Since 2010 when Haiti's 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck, hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated by individuals, foundations, and non-government organizations (NGO) to aid in reconstruction efforts. But very little of that money has actually been used for the dozens upon dozens of projects necessary to getting Haiti's infrastructure repaired and strengthened. Many factors are involved that have thrown up blockades toward achieving more and faster progress in planning and implementing building and road-reconstruction projects, as well as human-aid services.

Three reasons are interfering with the re-building of Haiti: many donors have not honored their pledges, mis-spending has occurred, and the government of Haiti (GOH) has not provided transparency in its spending accountability practices.

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