Last January 1st was the 205th anniversary of the declaration of Haiti’s independence. At that time, this country was the first Black republic in the world, the first declared victory of barefoot, shirtless African born slaves over the well trained and equipped Napoleon French army.
Since then, it seems that the descendants of these heroic men and women are still mesmerized by this glorious day they refer to “ad libitum”. However, should they analyze the organizational errors that follow this outstanding new beginning, the sporadic and circumstantial achievements of some leaders and the pitfalls of too many others, they will discover that from the beginning on, their have not been a common effort toward the establishment of a nation.
As ordinarily defined, a nation is “a stable, historically developed community of people with a territory, economic life, distinctive culture, and language in common”. This definition explain why each ethnic group of Native American call itself a nation. Unfortunately, after 205 years of proclaimed independence, Haiti cannot be called a nation yet. Instead, the majority of its leaders have cultivated among the citizens a tradition of suspicion, of jealousy, of discord, and too often of hatred that prevent understanding and common effort, but serve well the purpose of Machiavellian leaders who govern more comfortably in dysfunctional conditions.
In order to control such chaotic situation and supposedly prevent the emergence of any more super powerful leader, a group of Haitians prepared a presidential and governmental straight jacket with the 1987 Constitution. They divided the administrative power between the State headed by a president and the Government coordinated by a prime minister. Moreover, they give to the Senate and the House of Deputies, the authority to accept or reject the president’s choice of a prime minister, according to their own interpretation of the related articles of the Constitution and their appropriate rules or views.
In addition, the constituents introduced a maze of assemblies and councils whose members must be elected in addition to the president, the senators and deputies, the members of the Casecs and municipalities by a majority of illiterate voters in a bankrupt country. A look at the organization chart of the 1987 Constitution chows clearly the impossibility for any Haitian government to implement these non-functional demands.
All is needed is, beside the CASECS, the municipalities and the parliament, the government needs to be represented by a “délégué” in each department, a “vice délégué” in each arrondissement with the support of the protective forces and the independence of the judiciary. It should be the primary responsibility of the ministry of Interior and Territorial Development to stimulate and promote productive initiative in each Communal Section and each Municipality, through the coordinated action of the “délégués” and “vice délégués”. Naturally, this ministry must have the support of all the other ministries, because this whole effort of communal and municipal development must be an essential commitment of the government with the patriotic support of the legislators.
Haiti need to function like a well conceived and administered mega- enterprise with the State and the government functioning as stimulus, support in all possible ways and coordinator that encourages productive initiatives.