Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


24-Hour Power Not Close for Haiti, UN Official Says

Sandra Lemaire

   VOA's Margaret Besheer contributed to this report.

   WASHINGTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI -- Many Haitians dream of having
   electricity available at all times, but their hopes were dashed
   Wednesday when Jean Michel Durosca, a U.N. representative for
   development, bluntly said, "The power problem will take several
   presidential terms to resolve, I want everyone to understand that."

   Durosca said that would be the case even in a climate of political
   stability, and achieving the goal of 24 hours of electricity is
   "extremely difficult."

   "Although we haven't achieved this goal over the past 24 months, it's
   important to note that significant progress has been made," Durosca
   said at a Forum on Renewable Energy hosted by Quisqueya University in
   Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.

   A [1]study by USAID (the U.S. Agency for International Development)
   determined that only one-fourth of Haiti's population has access to
   electricity and that for those who do have access, service is
   unreliable and inconsistent.

   Jean Jumeau Rene, executive director of the Haitian Energy Institute,
   says the main reason Haiti is so far from attaining sustainable energy
   is that there is no existing national or public plan to achieve it.

   "Haiti must undertake energy reform just like every other country in
   the Americas," he said.

   Rene said there needs to be a national strategy that is systematic,
   long term and independent of the president, the administration or any
   particular group.

   "We need to go step by step and build the necessary infrastructure
   rather than going in circles the way we have done for the past 31
   years," he said, adding that it could realistically take five to 10
   years to see progress.

   "There has been a lot of talk about a new plan for Haiti. There's been
   talk about changing the system. There is no magic formula to change the
   system," he noted. "It requires a systematic effort, a common
   discussion about what our objectives are -- not only what we don't want
   -- because what we don't want is obvious ... and then we must put in
   place the mechanisms to get us there."

References

   1. https://www.usaid.gov/haiti/energy

.