President-elect Joseph Michel Martelly, tackles the problem of supply and distribution of electricity throughout the country.

Noting that only one Haitian in ten is connected to the grid, the President-elect focuses on the case to quickly remedy this situation which leaves more than 8 million Haitians in the dark.

To this end, the elected president will travel this Thursday, May 12 in Les Cayes to visit a facility offered by Canada and by late morning, he will visit the facilities of the ED'H in Port-au-Prince in order to inquire directly of the challenges faced by the institution.

The President Martelly had expressed his support to the ongoing review by the Council for the Modernization of Public Enterprises (CMEP), to determine how to solve the problem of electricity in the country and eliminate, at the time, the burden that represents the subsidy granted by the Public Treasury in support to the budget of the Institution.

The CMEP has already begun evaluating the options to reform and modernize the sector. The Haitian government can no longer afford to pay more than $100 million annually to fund the operations of the ED'H. These funds could fund new housing projects, construction of better schools and ensure a better future for our youth.

The change will require a new direction to the ED'H. To facilitate this process, the CMEP and the Government of Haiti will engage Haitian and international experts to work with ED'H over the next two years to improve the offer of services and reduce the financial losses. These measures will also improve the working conditions of employees of the ED'H and introduce the engineers and the company staff to the modern technology.

"This is a first step in the process that aims to improve the functioning of efficient institutions, to redress the less efficient institutions, and provide new opportunities for companies and households. All this aims to have an ED'H stronger, better equipped, with a service capacity designed to meet adequately to the needs of the population," declared the President-elect.

Commerce, hospitals, universities, schools, police stations need energy to provide essential services to the population. Companies need electricity continuously to increase their productivity and create jobs. Students and scholars need electricity to do their homework. Electricity can not be a luxury.

BF/ HaitiLibre