HAITI ECONOMIC WEEKLY UPDATE FOR JUNE 6 TO JUNE 12, 2009

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000564 STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ENRG EAID EAGR EINV ETRD BEXP HA SUBJECT: HAITI ECONOMIC WEEKLY UPDATE FOR JUNE 6 TO JUNE 12, 2009 ¶1. (U) Summary. This is a weekly report on a variety of topics of interest which do not merit full reporting cables. End summary. ¶2. (U) PRIVATIZATION OF TELECO. The Haitian Central Bank (BRH) published a Memorandum of Understanding inviting private enterprises to bid on modernizing Teleco, the parastatal telecoms company. ¶3. (U) H1N1 VIRUS. The Haitian and Dominican Ministers of Health agreed to work jointly on preventing the spread of the H1N1 Virus in both countries. Despite suspected cases in the DR, to date there has not been a confirmed case in Haiti. ¶4. (U) 2008 POST-HURRICANE REPORT. The Prime Minister announced the imminent publication of a detailed report on the disbursement of GoH emergency funds for post-hurricane rehabilitation. She indicated that the USD 197 million, taken from the GoH PetroCaribe Fund (funds gained from the resale of subsidized fuel from Venezuela),was not sufficient to repair all the damage caused by the hurricanes of ¶2008. ¶5. (U) OAS ASKS FOR GREATER SUPPORT FROM CARICOM. Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin of the Organization of American States (OAS) urged CARICOM countries to provide greater support for Haiti. Ramdin said that CARICOM has a moral obligation to provide more political commitment and economic/financial support to Haiti. ¶6. (U) ECONOMIC FREEDOM SURVEY. Haiti, with a score of 50.5 out of 100, ranked 147 of 179 countries worldwide in the 2009 Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation, just behind Russia. This overall score improved 1.5 points since 2008. Haiti ranked 26th out of 29 countries in the South and Central America/Caribbean region. The 50.5 score places Haiti in the category of "mostly unfree", just above "repressed".