By JACQUELINE CHARLES
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com
Clinton said Tuesday that he accepted the Haitian government offer to help lead the country's reconstruction over the next 18 months. The announcement came on the eve of an international donors conference at the United Nations to raise $3.9 billion of the $11.5 billion the country says it needs to rebuild after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake.
``The Haitians are committed to building back better -- expanding economic opportunities, strengthening basic services, and increasing the capacity of government,'' said Clinton, who will continue as the U.N. Special Envoy for Haiti. ``They want to create a new future for themselves and I am committed to assisting them.''
Clinton complimented Haitian President René Préval's and Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive's decision to send legislation to parliament to create the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission, which will guide the reconstruction.
``Their establishment of a Haitian government authority to oversee the future development process is an important step towards expediting projects, ensuring transparency, and coordinating the efforts of donors, [nongovernmental organizations] and the Haitian diaspora,'' he said.
Préval said in New York, where he arrived Tuesday for the conference, that having Clinton on board was a ``prestige.''
``He is a friend of Haiti,'' Préval said. ``He is very interested in helping us.''
Préval acknowledged that his government is weak and needs the international community's help. But he insisted that the rebuilding must be Haitian led. He welcomed the outpouring of support and joined in asking that Haiti also receive funds to help with its budget.
Cheryl Mills, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's point person on Haiti, said the United States is asking donors to help Préval's government continue to provide relief even as they make pledges for reconstruction.
Haiti is looking at a $250 million to 350 million budget gap, said Charles Castel, Haiti's Central Bank governor.
``We don't want to lose the benefits of the macro-economic stability, which was achieved with a lot of fiscal and monetary efforts,'' Castel said.
Also, as countries race to provide debt relief -- more than $700 million so far -- the International Monetary Fund is asking donors to not indebt the country in their urgency to help.
``The danger is there will be people who will try to lend again,'' said Corinne Deléchat, Haiti's mission chief for the IMF. ``We hope it will be in the form of grants.''
Deléchat said the recent announcements of debt relief from the United States and others are welcomed, but the reality is that Haiti won't be able to reap the benefits for at least two years.
``The amount of debt Haiti is obligated to pay this year is only $9 million. It's clearly a drop in the ocean,'' she said. ``The debt relief will become relevant after 2012.''
On Tuesday, South Florida Haitian leaders called for humanitarian assistance and economic development strategies, among other things. The recommendations will be presented at the Donors Conference.
Among their chief concerns is what role the diaspora will play in a post-quake Haiti.
``There is value in the Haitian diaspora, not only in terms of financial, but expertise,'' said Jean Robert Lafortune, chair of the Haitian American Grassroots Coalition.
In Port-au-Prince, where many Haitians only have the faintest idea of the government's reconstruction plans, Haitians say they want relief.
``These tents are not any good because the water can soak in,'' said Theogene Jean-Franet, a mechanic who lost his home in the quake. ``When the sun is on top of us, it's so hot I can't even wear a shirt. But what we need right now is a house -- a real house -- not a tent.''
Miami Herald staff writers Nadege Charles contributed to this report from Miami and Trenton Daniel from Port-au-Prince.
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