Economy: portrait of an emerging economy.Although the economy remains fragile, Haiti is enjoying modest growth and the government has managed to patch holes in the nation's public finances under a rescue package agreed with the International Monetary Fund. "We do not resort to the Central Bank to finance our debt any more. We have drastically curbed our deficit. The rate of inflation has greatly decreased as it now fluctuates between 10 and 12%. And the rate of the Gourde gourde n. See Table at currency. [Haitian, from feminine of French gourd, dull, from Late Latin gurdus, blunt, from Latin, dullard.] Noun 1. (national currency) to the dollar is much better. We reached a growth rate of 2.5% in 2005" says Minister of the Economy and Finance Henri Bazin. "In January 2005, we paid our arrears to the World Bank, paving the way for the resumption of foreign aid flows and better relations with international financial institutions. This helped release hundreds of millions of dollars of international assistance that was blocked by an embargo embargo (ĕmbär`gō), prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports. Instances of confining all domestic ships to port are rare, and the Embargo Act of 1807 is the sole example of this in imposed on the country under the former government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide" continues Henri Bazin. Much of the economic activity that does exist takes place in the informal shadow economy. This denies the government the tax revenue it so desperately needs to invest in social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales and to stimulate the economy through public spending programs. Haiti therefore desperately needs external investment both from multilateral organizations such as the Inter-American Bank for Development and from the private sector. Despite the doom and gloom doom and gloom n. Gloom and doom. doom  -and-gloom adj. however, significant investment potential now exists, if only because so little has been invested over the last two decades. Some of the most attractive opportunities are to be found in the agro-industrial sector; Haiti boasts tremendously fertile land yet production techniques need modernizing and food processing Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. The food processing industry utilises these processes. is still underdeveloped un·der·de·vel·opedadj. Not adequately or normally developed; immature. . As one of the world's poorest countries, Haiti also benefits from preferential access to markets in Europe and the Americas which makes export oriented industries even more interesting. Other promising investment opportunities exist in the telecommunications sector, where a third operating license was just given, and financing was released for infrastructure modernization modernization Transformation of a society from a rural and agrarian condition to a secular, urban, and industrial one. It is closely linked with industrialization. As societies modernize, the individual becomes increasingly important, gradually replacing the family, programs such as road construction and power generation. Nevertheless, the volatile history of Haiti The recorded history of Haiti began on December 5, 1492 when the European navigator Christopher Columbus happened upon a large island in the region of the western Atlantic Ocean that later came to be known as the Caribbean Sea. and the current poor security climate do little to encourage private sector investment. The government is therefore hoping that the international community will take the lead by committing money to key areas of the economy; once such a clear demonstration of support is made, private sector companies might then be encouraged to get involved. |
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