Delays, cost increases lead U.S. to scale back new housing in Haiti

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government had ambitious plans to build 15,000 homes in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, where more than 75 per cent of the population lives on less than $2 a day.

Disputes over land rights, inaccurate estimates and higher costs have forced the U.S. Agency for International Development to drastically scale back those plans and left members of Congress questioning whether U.S. tax dollars are delivering the help promised after the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake.

The Government Accountability Office, in a report released on Tuesday, found that as of this past March the agency had disbursed only 31 per cent of $651 million despite the government’s insistence that it was committed to Haiti’s reconstruction. The GAO also found that “a substantial amount of progress on project activities remains to be completed.”

Instead of 15,000 homes for 75,000 to 90,000 beneficiaries, the agency plans to build 2,649 homes for some 13,200 to 15,900 beneficiaries. In fact, the agency is expected to build 906 houses and non-government agencies and other partners are on tap to construct 1,743 homes.

Among the problems causing delays and cost increases was acquiring the land titles to build as well as the Haitian government’s demand that the homes have flush toilets. One difficulty was that before the January 2010 earthquake, Haiti had no waste-water treatment plants.

Since then, a temporary facility has been constructed at one location and a permanent plant built near the capital city of Port-au-Prince, though it’s unclear whether the facilities can serve the homes.

The findings show “the need to further investigate and ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not being wasted or abused in Haiti,” said Rep. Ileana RosLehtinen, a Republican who requested the report when she led the House Foreign Affairs Committee last year.

The earthquake displaced two million people, killed about 230,000 and injured 300,000. U.S. Congress voted to provide $1.14 billion in reconstruction funds, including $651 million for the agency that provides U.S. economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide.