March 30, 2012

A NEW COUNTERPART TO REPLACE THE IHRC AND ENABLE ALLOCATION OF $ 100 MILLION

The Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) could take over from the IHRC to review, approve and submit funding requests for consideration by the HRF Steering Committee.

The Steering Committee of the Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF) met today under the chairmanship of the Minister of Economy and Finance of Haiti, Mr. AndréLemercier Georges, to discuss a new government counterpart to the HRF.  This new process will enable the allocation of over US $100 million available for reconstruction.

With the end of the mandate of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC) on October 21, 2011, a new entity needed to be designated by the Government of Haiti as the HRF counterpart to receive, review, approve, and submit funding requests for consideration by the HRF Steering Committee. Several counterpart options including the Prime Minister's Office, the MPCE, the IHRC and an inter-ministerial process were examined today by the Steering Committee. Three criteria were selected: transparency, efficient and quick procedures and the use and reinforcement of existing governmental processes.

The Haitian government, through Minister André Lemercier Georges proposed the MPCE as the new HRF counterpart. The Minister stressed that the mission and mandate of the MPCE is to coordinate external assistance within the framework of national planning. The choice of this Ministry is made within the context of the overall reconstruction effort which emphasizes the capacity building of state institutions. The MPCE will be responsible for reviewing and evaluating proposals and submitting them for final decision to the Council of Ministers, and to convey their decisions to the HRF.

The government's proposal will be definitive once the procedures have been established and approved.The HRF stands ready to respond to financing requests from the Government of Haiti.