Balancing Act

From the moment that I arrived in Haiti, I have seen men, women, and children carrying around containers on their heads in the markets, in the rain, up mountains, with perfect balance. This image has stuck with me as I’ve conducted my research on how the port of Miragoane can be leveraged as a regional economic development hub. In the field of economic development, we strive to achieve this level of balance. In my position with the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, my goal is to spur the growth of a diverse economy that creates good-paying jobs and provides equal access to economic prosperity. However, job creation isn’t as easy as one may think. Every job is not a good job and every business that wants to enter the market doesn’t necessarily make it a good fit for the local economy.

Port of Miragoane

Cities, we compete for investment and we make ourselves competitive primarily through business friendly regulations, cheap and/or skilled labor, incentives, land supply, infrastructure, and quality of life indicators (housing, safety, schools, recreation, etc.).

Fortunately and unfortunately, Miragoane is a blank canvas. As I shared in a previous post, Sunday Brunch with the Senateur, Miragoane suffered greatly from disinvestment in the 1980’s and has since lacked any significant public or private investment.

Port of Miragoane

My visit last week showed that local merchants who sell second-hand goods received from shipments from the Port of Miami primarily support the local economy. Infrastructure is mostly non-existent and transportation from the Port of Miragoane to the rest of Haiti is challenging. However, a renewed interest by the National Port Authority to revitalize Haiti’s ports and the imminent opportunities by the widening of the Panama Canal, private industries are looking to capitalize on Haiti’s strategic location on trade routes.

Downtown Miragoane

Several proposed projects for Miragoane could introduce fuel storage, energy distribution and mining of natural resources to the region. The redevelopment of the port would support direct and indirect jobs and small-business opportunities in transportation, security and service industries. Private investments to sustain the port’s viability bring promise of improved roads, housing, electricity generation, public health and training facilitation. This, however, won’t happen for free. It’s likely the government of Haiti may explore concessions such as land, relocation of community members, infrastructure improvements and tax-exemptions to close a deal with interested companies.

In this delicate dance of economic development amongst stakeholders, policy and incentives, we set out to find that balance across bottom lines, community benefits, and the environment in hopes we do it as well as the men, women, and children carrying around containers on their heads in the markets, in the rain, up mountains of Haiti.