beyondbrics

It has now been two years since an earthquake tore apart Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, and it’s obvious that there’s widespread dissatisfaction at the excruciatingly slow progress of reconstruction.

But amid all the desperation, there have been some successes, in which the private sector has exercised an important role. Ideally, it would play a much bigger part.

The example to follow is Digicel, a telecommunications company run by energetic Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien. It is probably the best example of how businesses can be a force for good in Haiti.

It may be doing very good business in Haiti, but that can be good for everyone else too – in at least two important ways.

Firstly, Digicel pays taxes, unlike the non-governmental organizations that practically run the country, to the extent that it has become known as the Republic of NGOs. Although their help is greatly needed, they undermine the government in the process. But Digicel, as Haiti’s biggest taxpayer, provides the government with much-needed funds, easing its heavy reliance on foreign aid.

Secondly, Digicel is also the country’s largest employer. As prime minister Garry Conille put it, Haiti desperately needs “jobs, jobs, jobs” in order to revitalise the economy, which is burdened with a structural unemployment rate of about 60-70 per cent.

Haitians are so desperate for jobs that those who can emigrate to places like Brazil in search of work – it is becoming such a concern in Brazil that its government today announced that it is closing its borders to Haitians, and from now on only 100 visas will be granted a month.

Furthermore, Digicel is investing back into the country, announcing plans last November to spend $45m on a new 173-room hotel next to its offices, to be run by Marriott.

If more businesses were able to emulate Digicel’s success, that would be a key step in lifting Haiti out of a ditch it has been struggling to escape for decades.

Related reading:
Haiti struggles to rebuild, FT
Oxfam laments lack of progress in Haiti, FT
Fund in struggle to propel Haitian rebuilding, FT
Haiti president-elect faces tough challenges, FT