Responsibility and Accountability

Guy S. Antoine
November 2000

A private and public partnership

What do in fact the Haitian people want from their government and in what fashion are those needs being prioritized? It's clearly not enough to say that we have so many problems, therefore we have a no-good or cynical government. It does not follow. We need to address issues of responsibility, accountability, availability of resources, technical know how, management, and execution. Let's be real! Problems, there will always be problems.

What about spending some time analyzing what each Haitian individual should do to reverse those ills? Blaming every ill of the society on one man is as someone... spitting in the wind. Expecting any politico to handily solve all the country's problems for the rest of us is just wishful thinking.

Haiti has a lot of "capable people". The problem is bridging the gap between capability and execution. The Prime Minister's job, among other responsibilities, is to put together a program of social and economic development for the country. Such a program necessarily requires sacrifices from individuals and sectors of the population, sacrifices that would lead to the well-being of the nation. Then comes the matter of political will from everyone in the Executive, from the President down to every single public administration manager to make this plan work in the face of the inertia and downright resistance that will follow. No one likes to pay taxes, for instance, but in politically more advanced societies, can we afford not to? Haiti has become a country whose chief intellectual product is "opposition" at each and every turn. We get involved in an orgy of political power plays that become the fascination of the world. When positives happen, we deny them. When negatives happen, we exploit them. It is so much easier to focus on the failings of ONE individual, rather than examining just what prevents our political and administrative system from the successful execution of even moderate social objectives.

Analyze the problems separately, determine with your peers what you think the solution should be, and then lobby the Executive and the Legislative branches for consideration, adoption, and execution. Do consider also that often times, many of the problems can be addressed individually and collectively without the direct intervention of the government. Before saying "X has not done anything ", the first question should be: "What have we done ourselves? "

In Haiti, there are so many basic questions that need to be addressed.

To name just a few:

Language
If indeed the Haiti's main language is the National and Official language of the country, why is it that the government does not make systematic use of Haitian Creole in ALL government functions? If there are some logistical problems that prevent its use, then let's attack the problems and show some consistency in doing so.

Public utilities:
Water, electricity, telecommunications. These are not philosophical issues. Everyone can grasp the problem, when one is deprived of water, electricity, and a functioning telephone line. Regardless of who happens to be president, we need to establish a system of accountability. Having to pay for services not rendered is a practice that needs to be abolished yesterday. It is an absurdity. Why has it become the norm in Haiti?

Child Labor
We do have laws on the books that have never been implemented. But more to the point, and leaving the government's responsibility aside for a minute, what have we done individually and collectively to stop the abuse of child domestics in Haiti, or in our own families?

Well, I could of course go on and on... What I want to point to is this: Rather than automatically blame all of Haiti's ills on whoever happens to be President, why don't we analyze the problems, think of solutions, and take some personal responsibility to address those issues? We could draw a list of our concerns, and ask every would-be candidate in Haiti how he or she is going to address those problems, and in what time frame does he or she seriously expect to see some tangible improvements in the matter. Every time someone says "I oppose", we should respond "What do you propose? "

Imagine knowing clearly what even the major opposition parties in Haiti are about, what they stand for, what interests they advocate, what solutions they proffer, other than the politics of personality and "Ote toi que je m'y mette" (Abdicate at once... so that I assume this office!)

This is not meant to diminish the role and responsibilities of the Executive in Haiti, nor is it a defense of a government or a political party. This is an indictment of our usual mode of thinking and the way we practice politics in Haiti; the ever present readiness to say "This person is not worth a damn", rather than a true assessment of the positives and the negatives, and looking to solutions rather than personalities.


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