PREVAL'S ECONOMIC ADVISOR OUTLINES NEW DEVELOPMENT

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000636 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR S/CRS WHA/EPSC EB/IFD/ODF EB/IFD/OMA STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EFIN EAID ECON PGOV HA SUBJECT: PREVAL'S ECONOMIC ADVISOR OUTLINES NEW DEVELOPMENT PLAN ¶1. Summary: President-elect Rene Preval's economic advisor Gabriel Verret said the theme of Preval's "Pact for Democracy and Governance" is political, social, and economic modernization through employment generation and a commitment to private investments, both foreign and Haitian. Verret explained that Preval is the principal author, although it was Verret who helped define the plan as an economic development policy document from Preval's original vision. Verret said that in the short-term, Preval's team will focus on the creation of jobs through the private sector. Over the first year of Preval's tenure, Verret said Preval intends to develop a concrete 25-year development strategy, with the input of political and economic players as well as civil society representatives. End summary. ¶2. Econoff met with President-elect Rene Preval's economic advisor Gabriel Verret April 7 to discuss Preval's 25-year development strategy for Haiti, known as the "Pact for Governance and Democracy." Verret described the plan as a longer-term Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper with an overarching theme of political, social and economic modernization. The primary pillars of the plan, as announced by Preval on April 4 in Brazil, are employment generation and a commitment to private investments, both Haitian and foreign. Other aspects of the plan include education and security. During the meeting, Verret focused on students and education: both developing in-country opportunities for university graduates and more vocational schools for those without a university or high school diploma. ¶3. Verret explained that Preval originally envisioned the plan as a political entente between Haiti's political and economic forces. Verret helped define the vision as an economic development policy document: a "road map agreed to by all major political players as well as the country's economic forces, including private sector, labor, and civil society." Verret said his inspiration is CLED (Center for Free Enterprise and Democracy) 2020, a book summarizing the results of forums and conferences financed by USAID from 2000-2002. ¶4. When asked about the realization of the development plan, Verret said that Preval's team will focus on the private sector agenda in the short-term, to determine how to create more jobs. As for the long-term, Verret said it would take more than a year to develop a concrete plan. He said the realization would include a broad representation of political and economic players. Specifically he noted labor leaders, which were left out of the CLED conferences, and representatives from the "non-violently inclined wing" of Fanmi Lavalas. SANDERSON