(2014-06) Report on the Country's Financial Situation and Efficiency of Public Expenditure, FY 2014-2015

CSCCA (Cour Supérieure des Comptes et du Contentieux Administratif) • 2014

Summary — This report by the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA) analyzes Haiti's financial situation and public spending efficiency for the 2014-2015 fiscal year. It highlights a challenging economic context with low GDP growth, high inflation, and a significant trade deficit, exacerbated by political instability and reduced PetroCaribe funds. The report criticizes the public finance management system for its lack of transparency, integration, and accountability, leading to inefficient allocation of public investments.

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Key Findings

Public debt level raises questions about its sustainability and risks consuming a significant portion of the country's meager resources for debt service.
The public finance management system is poorly integrated, opaque, and lacks accountability, leading to inefficient public spending.
Many public investment projects, especially those funded by PetroCaribe, were not aligned with the Strategic Development Plan of Haiti (PSDH) and lacked clear justification or proper follow-up.
The Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) has a "double hat" role (coordinator and project manager) which creates conflicts of interest and weakens its effectiveness.
There is a critical need to return to public accounting fundamentals, ensure regularity of expenditures, and improve inter-institutional information exchange to prevent transactions from escaping control.

Full Description

This report by the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA) provides a comprehensive analysis of Haiti's financial situation and the efficiency of public spending during the 2014-2015 fiscal year. The period was characterized by significant political instability, including repeated electoral crises and a parliamentary vacuum, alongside a difficult economic environment. Key economic indicators showed a sluggish GDP growth of 1.7% (far below the 4.6% forecast), a double-digit inflation rate of 11.3%, and a widening trade deficit of $2.5 billion. External financing and PetroCaribe funds, crucial for public investments, saw drastic reductions, contributing to a rise in public debt. The CSCCA identifies major deficiencies in the public finance management system, noting a lack of transparency, integration, and accountability. The fiscal year saw an unprecedented three budgets and substantial reallocations of PetroCaribe-funded projects, often without clear justification or alignment with the Strategic Development Plan of Haiti (PSDH). The report highlights that many public investment projects were either inactive or lacked proper financial and physical progress tracking. Recommendations include implementing strategies to manage public debt, prioritizing structuring and productive investments over short-term or non-essential projects, improving inter-institutional information exchange, and clarifying the roles of entities like the Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation (MPCE) to enhance governance and spending efficiency.

Topics

Geography

Time Coverage

2014-10-01 — 2015-09-30

Keywords

Public finance, Public spending, Budget execution, Economic situation, Political context, PetroCaribe, Public debt, Governance, Transparency, Accountability, Investment projects, Fiscal year 2014-2015, Haiti, CSCCA, Economic growth, Inflation, Trade deficit, External aid, Public administration

Entities

Cour Supérieure des Comptes et du Contentieux Administratif (CSCCA), Ministère de l’Économie et des Finances (MEF), Banque de la République d’Haïti (BRH), Ministère de la Planification et de la Coopération Externe (MPCE), Commission Nationale des Marchés Publics (CNMP), Fonds Monétaire International (FMI), PetroCaribe, Institut Haïtien de Statistique et d'Informatique (IHSI), Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD), Banque Mondiale, Michel Joseph Martelly, André Cartapanis, David Ricardo, Herbert Hoover, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, Maurice Obstfeld, CONCACAF, USAID, NRECA, Banque Interaméricaine de Développement (BID), Ministère de l’Agriculture, des Ressources Naturelles et du Développement Rural (MARNDR), Ministère du Tourisme et des Industries Créatives (MTIC), Ministère du Commerce et de l’Industrie (MCI), Ministère de la Justice et de la Sécurité Publique (MJSP), Ministère des Affaires Étrangères (MAE), Primature, Ministère de la Défense Nationale (MDN), Ministère des Affaires Sociales (MAS), Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (MSPP), Ministère à la Condition Féminine et aux Droits de la Femme (MCFDF), Ministère de la Communication et de la Culture (MCC), Ministère de l’Éducation Nationale et de la Formation Professionnelle (MENFP), Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP), Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Administration Générale des Douanes (AGD), Unité de Construction de Logements et de Bâtiments Publics (UCLBP), Hôpital Bernard Mevs, Loterie de l’État d’Haïti

Notes

Series: RSFPEDP (annual). Site listing initially gave only a truncated title and a 'Publié le 2026-04-29'-style very early publish date (2014-06-29); the PDF's own cover page confirms 'Rapport pour l'exercice 2014-2015', so the FY label used here is document-verified even though it postdates the FY-end (report necessarily published after Sep 2015; the site's stored 'Publié le' date of 2014-06-29 is almost certainly a data-entry artifact, not the true publication date — flagged, not corrected). Oldest CSCCA RSFPEDP report reached from the site's paginated listing (6 pages total).