Public Finances in Haiti: Diagnosis of the Last 15 Years, Lessons Learned and Ways Forward
Summary — This report by the Cour Supérieure des Comptes et du Contentieux Administratif (CSCCA) analyzes Haiti's public finances from 2009-2024. It identifies normative advances alongside persistent structural weaknesses, including insufficient resource mobilization, unbalanced public spending, compromised budgetary sustainability, limited spending efficiency, and weaknesses in transparency and accountability.
Key Findings
- Insufficient resource mobilization with limited tax pressure.
- Unbalanced public expenditure structure favoring operating expenses over investment.
- Compromised budgetary sustainability due to debt service and accumulated deficits.
- Limited effectiveness of public spending with modest economic and social returns.
- Weaknesses in transparency and accountability hindering public trust.
Full Description
The Cour Supérieure des Comptes et du Contentieux Administratif (CSCCA) presents a report diagnosing Haiti's public finances from 2009 to 2024. The report acknowledges normative progress, such as the Public Finance Reform Strategy (2014) and the law replacing the 2005 decree on finance law development and execution. However, it finds that implementation of these reforms has been insufficient to significantly improve budgetary governance, increase domestic resource mobilization, and enhance the effectiveness of public spending. Key issues identified include insufficient resource mobilization, an unbalanced structure of public expenditure, compromised budgetary sustainability, limited effectiveness of public spending, and weaknesses in transparency and accountability. The report concludes with ten lessons learned and ten priority actions to strengthen financial governance and promote economic recovery.