With Haiti in need of 500,000 new permanent houses over the next decade, the government sets out to tackle the biggest unresolved reconstruction issue. But the plan has spurred lots of questions and criticism.
By Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, Feb. 4, 2013
(The Miami Herald neglects to mention in this article the total absence of a housing policy by the Haitian government and its international allies. A draft of a housing policy was issued in April 2012 but was never finalized. It explicitly rejected any leading for a Haitian government in building or managing housing.--Website editors.)
The bright green, orange and blue box-shaped tiny buildings beckon like neon signs on a dark night. Partially built and the size of a tiny motel room, the two-room structures are a huge improvement over the tattered tents and tin shacks where 347,284 Haitians still linger three years after the devastating Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake. But as Haiti’s government moves to resolve the biggest reconstruction issue — permanent housing — officials are facing a lack of funds to solve the problem and getting criticized over the size and location of the houses that are being built. Some even question whether the government should be in the construction business.
