Business
Haiti Rebuilds: Martelly launches electricity program
Haiti President Michel Martelly
Haiti’s president said Monday he hopes to double the number of rural households that receive electricity within two years by offering people small loans to buy solar kits.
The announcement by President Michel Martelly is part of a US$45 million-plus energy package that aims to introduce electricity to thousands of people in this impoverished nation who otherwise illuminate their homes by candlelight.
The program, dubbed “Give me light, give me life,” seeks to build credit for rural Haitians as they take out loans to purchase small solar kits for charging their cell phones or computers. It also aims to line streets with light posts in the countryside and repair power lines in poor neighborhoods in the capital.
“If a country wants to talk about development it’s imperative to talk about energy and electricity,” Martelly said at a news conference at a hotel in downtown Port-au-Prince.
The need for energy in Haiti is critical to the reconstruction of Haiti as the Caribbean country struggles to recover from a massive earthquake two years ago that devastated much of the southern half and initially displaced 1.5 million people.
The 40-year-old state-run Electricity of Haiti can only power 200,000 homes, Martelly said, and only 30 percent of the population in this country of 10 million has access to a power supply. Even then, most parts of Haiti only have electricity for a few hours a day, forcing many businesses and some homes to rely on generators and expensive fuel imports.
The new program will call on smaller Haitian banks to issue US$30 million in loans with an interest rate of 7 percent, payable over seven years. The credit will help families purchase solar kits that will each cost between US$250 and US$350.
