VIDEO:Haitian Prime Minister Warns of Failure for Reconstruction Plans

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Government planners and international experts met in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday to discuss reconstruction plans for quake-ravaged Haiti. But Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive warned that the whole process is at risk of failure.

Jean-Max Bellerive, Haitian Prime Minister:

''New York could be a failure if we don't reach an agreement on the structure for the coordination and the organization of the trust fund. New York could be a failure if we don't manage to establish together the priorities for immediate investments. New York could be a failure if the private sector is not integrated but left aside. New York can be a failure if the diaspora, if the civilian society is left aside.''

Bellerive said the way the aid is being distributed needs to change.

Jean-Max Bellerive, Haitian Prime Minister:

''If we continue as we did before to shift 80-90 percent of the aid through non-governmental structures, if we continue to distribute the aid in dribs and drabs or to get it through a drip, it can last another 20 years. If now we take things seriously, if we do act together in a coherent manner, it can go very quickly.''

As the country is about to receive millions of U.S. dollars, many fear corruption could worsen.

Marylin Allien, Foundation Heritage for Haiti:

''Everyone involved, all the institutions involved in the aid process should start to understand that the problem is real, that we need to set up control mechanisms right now, not in six months, not in one year.''

Bellerive says he would fight corruption within the government.

Jean-Max Bellerive, Haitian Prime Minister:

''The only engagement I am taking as a member of the government, if there is corruption within the government, it is my job, my obligation to punish.

The plan will address eight areas of reconstruction including education, housing, telecommunications, transport and energy.

The Inter-American Development Bank estimates the cost of reconstruction in Haiti will run from 8 to 14 billion dollars.

Source: NTDWorldNews