(2025-02) Diagnostic de gouvernance en Haïti : résumé de haut niveau du rapport d'assistance technique, février 2025

HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REPORT HAITI Governance Diagnostic Report February 2025 Prepared By Tina Burjaliani MEMBERS: Ivana Rossi, Paula Paixao e Silva Zarazinski, André Benjamin Kahn, Anthony Ramarozatovo, Jean Pierre Nguenang, Abdoulahi Mfombouot, Patrick Le Clerc ©2005 International Monetary Fund [HLS/YY/XX] High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report Legal Department Governance Diagnostic Report Prepared by: Tina Burjaliani, Ivana Rossi, Paula Paixao e Silva Zarazinski, André Benjamin Kahn, Anthony Ramarozatovo, Jean Pierre Nguenang, Abdoulahi Mfombouot, Patrick Le Clerc The High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report series provides high-level summaries of the assistance provided to IMF capacity development recipients, describing the high-level objectives, findings, and recommendations. ABSTRACT: The Governance Diagnostic (GD) Report is prepared by IMF staff at the request of the Haitian authorities. Informed by political economy analysis, the GD discusses the nature and severity of corruption, its relevance to Haiti’s fragility, and its impact on the anti-corruption, anti-money laundering frameworks and the rule of law (especially judicial integrity). It also discusses governance weaknesses and corruption vulnerabilities in the fiscal governance and financial sector oversight. These governance weaknesses and vulnerabilities appear in the context of endemic violence that has undermined the legitimacy of state institutions. The GD Report proposes a set of time-bound reform measures aimed at strengthening economic governance, rule of law and reducing corruption vulnerabilities. JEL Classification Numbers [Type Here] (consult https://www.aeaweb.org/econlit/jelCodes.php) Keywords: IMF, Governance Diagnostic, Haiti, governance, corruption, anti-corruption The contents of this document constitute a high-level summary of technical advice provided by the staff of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the authorities of a member country or international agency (the "CD recipient") in response to their request for capacity development. Unless the CD recipient specifically objects within 30 business days of its transmittal, the IMF will publish this high-level summary on IMF.org (see Staff Operational Guidance on the Dissemination of Capacity Development Information). International Monetary Fund, IMF Publications P.O. Box 92780, Washington, DC 20090, U.S.A. T. +(1) 202.623.7430 • F. +(1) 202.623.7201 publications@IMF.org IMF.org/pubs Background At the request of the authorities of Haiti, a Governance Diagnostic (GD) mission was conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff between September and December 2023. The GD was launched with an inter-departmental (involving the Legal, Fiscal Affairs, Monetary and Capital Markets Departments) scoping mission held from September 11-15, 2023. This was followed by the main mission, which took place in two parts: a virtual mission from November 27 to December 1st, 2023, and an off-site mission in Panama from December 11-15, 2023. These missions were complemented by an extensive desk review of available reports and studies. The mission team benefited from discussions with international organizations and development partners of Haiti, governmental and non-governmental stakeholders and the advice of short-term experts on political economy of corruption in Haiti. The finalization of the GD Report was delayed due to the severely deteriorated security and political situation in February 2024, but the process was renewed in June 2024. The mission was guided by IMF’s 2018 Framework on Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance and 2022 Strategy on Fragile and Conflict Affected States. The findings and recommendations are intended to support Haiti's efforts to strengthen governance, reduce corruption, and promote inclusive economic development. Summary of Findings Corruption remains a critical barrier to effective governance and sustainable growth, hindering efforts to exit fragility. Enhancing transparency in the public sector, holding individuals accountable for corruption, money laundering, and related offenses, and building institutional capacities can help foster public trust in institutions and stimulate economic growth. Despite reforms undertaken, with support from international partners, significant weaknesses remain in fiscal governance. Specifically, budget preparation, budget execution, public procurement, fiscal reporting, and auditing show serious flaws. The new Tax and Customs Code represents an important step forward, but it has not fully addressed the vulnerabilities within tax and customs administrations, which remain susceptible to arbitrary actions and corruption. While the legal frameworks for financial sector oversight align with international standards, their implementation is hampered by security issues and workforce attrition. The anti-corruption legal framework is outdated and inadequate in addressing current corruption risks, and the anti-money laundering framework, though recently upgraded to enhance institutional autonomy and improve investigative capacities, still suffers from low effectiveness due to systemic corruption, insufficient training, and security challenges. Judicial integrity is undermined by vulnerabilities to external undue influence, which hampers the prosecution of corruption cases and erodes public confidence in the judiciary’s ability to administer impartial justice. These weaknesses persist within a context of endemic violence and political instability. Summary of Recommendations The GD outlines sequenced, tailored recommendations that require strong government ownership and external support for effective implementation. These recommendations are tailored to address the nature, severity, and risks of corruption, with the goal of reversing the legacy of impunity and promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector. Informed by political economy analysis, the recommendations recognize the need for extraordinary measures to rebuild legitimacy and public trust in IMF High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report | 4 institutions, while also creating momentum for broader economic governance reforms. A set of limited number of priority recommendations has been identified, as they hold the potential to establish a solid foundation for the successful implementation of more comprehensive economic governance reforms . Enhanced security and a political resolution that strengthens government legitimacy are necessary conditions for the sustainability of governance reforms. IMF High-Level Summary Technical Assistance Report | 5