Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) Haiti April 2014
Summary — World Bank assessment of Haiti's debt management capacity identifying serious weaknesses in legal framework, institutional coordination, and analytical capacity. The report evaluates 15 debt performance indicators and provides recommendations for strengthening debt management practices.
Key Findings
- Haiti's debt management suffers from weak legal framework, fragmented responsibilities, and absence of debt management strategy.
- Debt databases are dispersed across institutions, managed in Excel sheets with no systematic reconciliation between institutions.
- The debt management unit lacks analytical capacity and fails to incorporate planning and analysis significantly.
- There is minimal contingency planning and limited public dissemination of debt-related information.
- Haiti is assessed to be at high risk of external debt distress due to narrow export base and low revenues.
Full Description
The World Bank conducted a comprehensive Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) of Haiti in March 2014 at the request of the Haitian government. The assessment found that Haiti's debt management is beset by serious difficulties including weak legal framework, fragmented responsibilities, absence of debt management strategy, and weak analytical capacity.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) was undergoing internal restructuring at the time, moving the debt management unit from the General Budget Directorate to the Treasury Directorate. A draft law on debt management was pending parliamentary approval that would significantly expand the debt unit's role and responsibilities.
The assessment evaluated 15 Debt Performance Indicators covering legal framework, institutional arrangements, debt strategy, operations, and reporting. Key challenges identified include dispersed databases managed in Excel sheets with no systematic reconciliation, minimal contingency planning, and limited public reporting of debt information.
Three overarching challenges were identified: ensuring readiness to implement the new debt law, unifying debt databases and defining DMFAS management responsibilities, and significantly strengthening analytical capacity to enable comprehensive understanding of debt sustainability and its importance in economic management.