The Republic of Haiti faces complex and multidimensional environmental, political, as well as social and economic developmental challenges, which hinder the proper functioning of public governance and the achievement of Haitian administration’s objectives. In response to these challenges, and in the face of acute and persistent regional disparities, the Haitian administration is pursuing a broad and inclusive reform agenda that includes the Strategic Plan for the Development of Haiti (Plan Stratégique de Développement d’Haïti - PSDH), the State Modernisation Programme 2018-2023 (Programme de Modernisation de l’État 2018-2023 - PME-2023), and the Public Finance Reform Strategy (Stratégie de Réforme des Finances Publiques - SRFP). These documents reflect the government's determination to pursue a strong public governance reform agenda and to achieve clear and ambitious social and economic development goals. The objectives of these reforms are to bring the country closer to emerging economy status, strengthen the rule of law, foster a more cohesive and inclusive society and renovate and modernise public governance.
It is in this context that the OECD is collaborating with the Haitian administration by producing a Public Governance Review (hereinafter "the Review"), which aims to present a holistic account of public governance in Haiti. The review is structured around public governance issues identified in collaboration with the government and is accompanied by recommendations to help the country achieve its priority reform objectives. Anchored in a desire for continuity and coherence with existing initiatives, it thus represents an exceptional opportunity to consolidate past reforms and propose new initiatives, enabling Haiti to achieve its long-term strategic vision of promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth for all its citizens. The recommendations proposed by the OECD are also intended to provide the government with guidance and analytical tools for the selection, coordination and evaluation of projects proposed for international support.
In this regard, the Review recommends that Haiti pursue a comprehensive public governance reform programme, in line with the targets of the PME-2023 and Haiti's Strategic Development Plan, to make decision-making more strategic across government and to strengthen the capacity of the public administration and the centre of government in the following areas: centre of government-led coordination; evidence-based decision making; multi-level governance; strategic management of the public service; and open government and strategic management of public communication.
In addition, the Review proposes a series of recommendations, the implementation of which depends in part on the national political will and the stability of political and socio-economic conditions. The Review thus makes recommendations that need to be integrated into a regular and ongoing process of reform across Haitian government and administration. In addition, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as current security and political events, the Review recommends extending the implementation period of the State Modernisation Plan beyond 2023, in order to ensure the success of public governance reforms.
This report is part of a series of public governance reviews conducted by the OECD in member and non-member countries. It was conducted under the auspices of the OECD Public Governance Committee, with support from the Public Governance Reviews and Partnerships Division. The review was conducted in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources Management, a strategic body of the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Haiti. It is based on evidence provided by the Government of the Republic of Haiti, including documented responses to a project-specific OECD questionnaire; two background reports produced by local experts; two fact-finding missions and a finalisation mission conducted remotely due to health and safety conditions, which brought together government and non-government stakeholders; and peer reviewers from France, Morocco, Senegal, the European Evaluation Society and Tunisia.
This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
The drafting of this report and the related fact-finding activities were carried out from February 2019 to June 2021. The report was approved and declassified by the Public Governance Committee by written procedure on 8 July 2021. It has been prepared for publication by the Secretariat.