AllNationsInternational Blog

Bill Clinton tours empoverished Haiti areas

July 16, 2009 on 9:48 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments

Port-au-Prince.– Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said this week a lack of cooperation between Haitian politicians, aid groups and business leaders was hurting efforts to help the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Clinton, on his first visit since being named U.N. special envoy to Haiti, said he was optimistic about its future but surprised by the continuing divide between the private and public sectors and the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Haiti.

“The most surprising thing to me … is how little the investor community, all the elements of the government, including the legislative branch and the NGO community seem to have taught and absorbed each others’ lessons,” Clinton told reporters at the end of a two-day fact-finding mission.

The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has struggled to establish democratic institutions and a stable investment climate following decades of dictatorship and military rule. Most of its 9 million people live on less than $2 a day.