Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: The Economy
procurement," adding that the Bank was demanding repayment.
The government provides extremely limited and unreliable
public transportation, leaving road transport in the hands of
small operators who run trucks, vans, and taxis without much
regard to safety concerns. In the late 1990s, most Haitians were
continuing to use "tap-taps," brightly colored and overcrowded
jitneys that service almost every corner of the island. Nearly all
vehicles in Haiti are imported; an estimated 50,000 vehicles
were in use in 1991, compared with 36,600 vehicles ten years
earlier.
Ports are another major component of the country's transportation
sector. Haiti has fourteen ports. Although most of
these ports are provincial and small, they have turned into
major centers of imported contraband, especially after the
.
upheavals of the 1990s. Port-au-Prince remains the major port,
and is equipped with container facilities and berths for large
liners. It also remains the island's central shipping site for most
registered imports and exports. Beside its container capability 7 ,
it offers a roll-on/roll-off facility, a thirty-ton gantry crane, and
a fifty-ton mobile crane in addition to its older mechanical handling
equipment and two transit warehouses. Port fees are so
expensive, however, that the port is underused. Wharfage costs
are four times higher than those of the neighboring Dominican
Republic. Also, most of the port's equipment is in very
poor condition. Perhaps for this reason, legislation relating to
the modernization of public enterprises had recommended
that management of the port be turned over to a private operator.
The legislation was still pending in parliament in late 1999.
Cap-Haitien was the second major port until the end of the
1980s, handling most cruise-ship traffic as well as domestic and
international merchant ships. In the 1990s, it was replaced by
Miragoane, which in 1999 remained a major export port.
Lesser used ports include Les Cayes, Fort Liberte, Gonaives,
Jacmel, Montrouis, and Jeremie. They play a role in internal
commerce, mainly as an alternative to the island's poor road
system and as a conduit for contraband trade out of the
Dominican Republic and Miami. Although smuggling may
have stimulated economic activity at these small provincial
ports, it has resulted in the loss of millions of dollars in import
duties. The porous border with the Dominican Republic also
continues to be a favorite route for imported contraband.
403