Posts Tagged ‘Katye Pam Poze’

Haiti’s Novel Decentralization Program Gives a Voice to the Heartland: Hundreds Gather at Community Cafes to Help Shape Their Future

President Martelly drives KPP community-based decentralization through innovative asset-based participatory approach

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, April 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Hundreds of citizens in the Haitian cities of Jacmel, Leogane and Port de Paix have now participated in the Ministry of the Interior’s innovative Community Cafes, the first phase of a comprehensive community decentralization program called Katye Pam Poze (KPP).  

In addressing the enthusiastic gathering of more than 100 people at Leogane, President Martelly spoke about Haiti’s KPP as the cornerstone of his administration’s National Decentralization Agenda. “Since the beginning, I have held a vision for a decentralized Haiti, and now we have a program under way to turn that vision into reality, with citizens participating in decision-making that affects their communities. My government and I are fully committed to making our communities safer and more prosperous, one neighborhood at a time,” said the President.

“I am extremely pleased with the turn-out, people’s openness and willingness to make a difference in their communities and to personally commit to making it happen,” said Haiti’s Minister of the Interior, Thierry Mayard-Paul, who leads and organizes the community cafes in his role as chief implementer of President Martelly’s community-based decentralization program. “This is exactly the purpose of Katye Pam Poze, to bring decision-making closer to the people while promoting good governance, boosting economic development and job creation, and delivering public services as efficiently as possible.” 

Katye Pam Poze was launched mid March 2012 in Jacmel and followed by Leogane and Port de Paix. Seven additional Cafes are slated to take place in order to cover all ten of the country’s departments.  The community Cafes are a key component of KPP’s participatory approach.  They consist of a dialogue session between central and local government entities, and citizens, designed to identify the most pressing local needs, and work together to find solutions.

Once local needs are assessed through KPP cafés, as well as extensive asset-based community development research on-the-ground, a detailed blueprint will be developed for each of the ten pilot communities, laying out priority subprograms that will guarantee access to basic social services and citizen safety.

President Martelly stressed that the goal of his administration is to enable safe and prosperous communities throughout Haiti, and called on all citizens to participate.   ”The implementation of Katye Pam Poze marks a turning point for our communities and our nation, with my administration inviting local authorities and local citizens to work hand-in-hand with us to push economic and social development at the local level.  As citizens, you now have a voice and are part of an historic event–the beginning of a new day for Haiti.”

The KPP Cafes so far have identified similar general challenges, including: safety and security, education, health services and the environment.

Mayard-Paul highlighted that the range of actions within KPP includes strengthening municipalities; natural disaster mitigation efforts; improving the delivery of health, housing and education services; recovering public spaces, developing local citizen initiatives and creating job opportunities in tandem with the private sector. “In the end, our goal is to improve the quality of life of the Haitian people by enabling safe and prosperous communities, right where they live,” he said. “Building the capacity of citizens to manage and maintain KPP programs and infrastructure at the local level is very important to our administration, as is developing culture and sports programs. This is an ambitious decentralization program.”

The Minister also pointed out that while Katye Pam Poze is modeled on successful experiences in other parts of the world, including Asia, the Americas, Africa, Europe and the United States, it introduces a new and innovative approach to community-based decentralization, created by Haitians for Haitians.

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Haiti’s Minister of Interior and UNDP Sr. Program Director Confer on Disaster Planning

Unveiling of Katye Pam Poze, Haiti’s proprietary, community-based decentralization initiative and civil preparedness programs discussed

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –  Focusing on Haiti’s natural disaster planning and creation of strong community-based civil defense programs, Haiti’s Minister of the Interior, Thierry Mayard-Paul, accompanying President Michel Martelly, met with United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Senior Director, Jessica Faieta to discuss progress and next steps.  The meeting, which took place March 21 in Port-au-Prince, comes within the framework of strengthening the existing, long-term partnership between the UNPD and the Government of Haiti.

Recognizing the role played by the UNDP within Haiti, including fortifying the Department of Civil Protection (DPC), Minister Mayard-Paul underscored the importance of ongoing dialogue to demonstrate that both the Haitian government and the UNDP are committed to completing what we begin.

“The UNDP has been instrumental in strengthening the DPC’s institutional capacity, improving infrastructure and access to equipment that will help Haiti reduce risks and be better prepared to manage and respond to emergency situations,” said Mr. Mayard-Paul.  He added that the UNDP and Haiti have been committed partners, saying “We will demonstrate how working together we accomplish remarkable things,” referring to the validation ceremony for Haiti’s precedent-setting “Seismic Risk Reduction Plan.”

The Minister and Ms. Faieta also discussed the unveiling of Haiti’s new community-based decentralization program, Katye Pam Poze, which took place the previous week in a meeting between Mr. Mayard-Paul and Margareta Wahlstrom,  the UN’s Assistant Secretary General for Disaster and Risk Reduction.  Katye Pam Poze (KPP) forms the cornerstone for President Martelly’s National Agenda for Decentralization.

“Katye Pam Poze is a program developed by Haitians for Haitians that seeks to bring decision-making closer to the people,” said Mr. Mayard-Paul. “Our goal is to promote good governance, boost economic development and achieve our goals for job creation.  We also aim to ensure the efficient delivery of public services and safety for our citizens.”

At the core of Katye Pam Poze is a plan to mobilize local governments for disaster risk prevention and emergency response which is a top priority for the Martelly administration.  Both Katye Pam Poze and the new risk reduction initiative are aligned with the UNDP view that in a national emergency, the immediate priority is to ensure people receive help as quickly as possible, ideally within the first few hours.  “This can only be accomplished through community-based programs where everyone knows their roles,” said the Minister.  To this end, the Minister of the Interior has several initiatives underway, including a widespread national first aid training program. “Our comprehensive disaster preparedness strategy includes building a network of emergency operations centers, warehouses, disaster and fire stations throughout Haiti in order to help make all parts of the country safer,” said Mr. Mayard-Paul. “Complementing and bolstering the efforts of the Haitian Red Cross, first aid training will be provided to schoolchildren, workers, professionals, representatives of the informal sector, and the population-at large.”

In January 2012, Haiti’s Civil Protection network received a generous gift of SUVs, trucks, boats, canoes, 11,000 solar radios, tents and other disaster-response equipment from the U.S. Department of Defense further bolstering Haiti’s institutional capacity with modern emergency equipment.

“Civil Protection is a top priority for my department,” said the Minister. “As a next phase we will be creating a commission to define the five most critical concerns for civil protection and with the collaboration of everyone at the local and central government level we will implement our new initiative.  We will keep you informed about the outcome of this commission, and we hope that UNDP will continue to be our partner as it has proven to be throughout all these years.”

Also present at the meeting were Nigel Fisher, Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator of UN System, UNDP Resident Representative; UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark and Haiti’s Minister of Planning Herve Day.

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Haitian Decentralization Plan, Katye Pam Poze, Launched in Jacmel with First Cafe Community Dialogue

Cross-sector participation shows strong support as new community-based decentralization program kicks off

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Haiti’s recently-launched community-based decentralization program, Katye Pam Poze (KPP), kicked off its community cafe series in Jacmel with nearly 100 local residents sharing their views on what their neighborhoods need most.

According to Minister of the Interior Thierry Mayard-Paul, who is spearheading and coordinating President Michel Martelly’s new program, “every community’s needs are different, so we will be visiting all ten pilot cities throughout Haiti learning their specific requirements through our cafe dialogues,” he said. “That way, we can ensure that we address the needs of each community, under an integral and manageable framework.”

The cafe dialogues are a key aspect of KPP’s participatory approach, which seeks to bring decision-making closer to the citizen level. Once local needs are assessed through cafes, as well as extensive asset-based community development research on-the-ground, a detailed blueprint will be developed for each of the ten pilot communities, laying out priority subprograms that will guarantee access to basic social services and citizen safety.

President Martelly’s Delegate, Pierre Michel Lafontant, stated during his opening remarks that President Martelly has committed the full support of his administration to KPP as a cornerstone of the Haitian government’s National Decentralization Agenda.  ”Katye Pam Poze will build a safer and more prosperous Haiti, one community at a time, while moving towards the consolidation of democratic governance,” said the delegate.  “It has been the President’s goal from the beginning of his decision to run for president, that Haitian citizens be more directly involved in planning, implementing, and managing programs and initiatives that impact their communities.   With the launch of Katye Pam Poze, Haitians now have a voice—and a responsibility—-within and alongside the central government.”

The inaugural cafe was attended by nearly 100 people representing Jacmel’s diverse resident base, including the mayor, Andris Ronald, whose enthusiastic participation showed full support for the program. Initiating the research models that will inform local Katye Pam Poze pilots, participants in Friday’s kick-off cafe in Jacmel were asked to identify the most pressing issues confronting their community.  Security was the overarching concern, followed by other issues ranging from water sanitation to education.  Almost everyone agreed that the Sud-Est department, within which Jacmel is located, requires a comprehensive healthcare facility.

“The enthusiastic participation of everyone here today fully validates our approach to community-based decentralization through the Katye Pam Poze program and the accompanying cafes,” said Mayard-Paul. “There was a lot of energy and expectation centered on having a voice in the decision-making table, and participants took their roles very seriously in working together to determine Jacmel’s priority needs.”

Citizen participation is critical for the success of KPP, and Minister Mayard-Paul instructed participants that within the context of decentralization, Haiti’s communities are owned by the citizens. “These are your communities,” he said. “And I applaud you for stepping up to be part of the change, in partnership with the government.”

The Minister highlighted that the range of actions within KPP includes strengthening natural disaster mitigation efforts; improving the delivery of health, housing and education services; recovering public spaces; developing local citizen initiatives and creating job opportunities in tandem with the private sector.  “In the end, our goal is to improve the quality of life of the Haitian people by enabling safe and prosperous communities, right where they live,” he said.  “Building the capacity of citizens to manage and maintain KPP programs and infrastructure at the local level is very important to our administration, as is developing culture and sports programs.  This is an ambitious decentralization program.”

Broadly defined, decentralization is the process by which power and other resources are transferred from the central government to lower governmental levels, such as regions, departments, municipalities, and communal sections.  This enables local entities to provide services to their communities and conduct local government tasks.  According to Mayard-Paul, advocates believe that decentralization is one of the most effective ways to ensure that local governments are held accountable to the citizens they represent. 

Mayard-Paul pointed out that while Katye Pam Poze is modeled on successful experiences in other parts of the world, including Asia, the Americas, Africa, Europe and the United States, it is Haitian-specific. “Katye Pam Poze introduces a new and innovative Haitian approach to community-based decentralization that addresses our conditions and reality in order to drive sustainable development and job creation at the local level,” concluded Mayard-Paul.

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