AID AGENCY Concern has called on the Government to push for the cancellation of Haiti’s debt burden following the recent earthquake.
In a presentation to the Oireachtas Foreign Affairs Committee, Concern urged the Government to vote at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for annulment of all debt for Haiti.
The aid agency also recommended that any disaster relief assistance should be given in the form of grants and not loans in order to reduce the country’s financial burden.
In a statement, Concern noted that Haiti’s current debt amounts to $800 million (€580 million). “This has accumulated due, in large part, to past loans granted by international lenders to harsh Haitian dictatorships.”
Haiti’s “ability to generate revenue and make its debt payments has been devastated by the recent earthquake and in order to build a sustainable future it must begin debt free and receive aid that does not ultimately create further debt.”
Last June Haiti secured a debt cancellation of $1.2 billion from its major creditors. Concern argues that, given the dire circumstances Haiti now finds itself in, nothing less than total debt cancellation is required.
Concern is one of several Irish aid agencies providing emergency support and supplies to those affected by the earthquake.
Chief executive Tom Arnold said support for its Haiti appeal had been “exceptional” with €5.3 million donated to date.
“It is inconceivable . . . that Haiti could manage to pay $800 million in international debt,” he said. “All our efforts . . . must be focused on rebuilding a better and stronger Haiti, and not giving with the one hand and taking with the other.”