(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Former Jamaican Prime Minister Percival J. Patterson, Special Representative of the CARICOM Heads of Government on Haiti, is in Haiti as part of follow-up activities to the International Donor Conference: ‘Towards a New Future for Haiti’ held in New York last month. The Donor Conference, held at the United Nations Headquarters on 31 March, raised US$9.9B for Haiti’s reconstruction.

The CARICOM mission which includes Head of the CARICOM Secretariat Haiti Support Unit, Ambassador Colin Granderson, will meet with President Rene Preval. Their discussions will touch on the establishment, operational modalities and launch of the work of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission (IHRC) and the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), two critical mechanisms in the implementation of the Action Plan proposed by the Government of Haiti for the rebuilding of the country following the earthquake of 12 January 2010. Also on the table will be governance issues; in particular support for the electoral process, communication and public relations in crisis situations, and forthcoming international conferences on the reconstruction of Haiti.

There is a private sector element in the CARICOM delegation which includes leading figures of the Jamaican private sector who wish to have an initial exchange with their Haitian counterparts in order to initiate a broader participation by the wider Caribbean sector. Issues related to the role of the Haitian private sector, the Diaspora and the engagement of professionals for the reconstruction process will be discussed.

At the New York Donor Meeting Mr. Patterson had called for an early start to the work of the IHRC, especially in view of the continuing difficult living conditions of the internally displaced persons whose precarious situation is expected to become worse with the onset of the rainy season.

CONTACT: piu@caricom.org