An obvious photo op...everyone knows these clowns hate capitalism.
I have seen some in the Miami media report this like the Clintons themselves are responsible for the jobs. LOL.
Bill & Hillary are going to explain what Hatiti’s thug dictator has done with the BILLIONS in aid that hasn’t been used to help the people.
How much is the government of Haiti spending to host the Clintons, “investors,” and celebrities? And where did the money come from? (U.S. government aid?)
What kind of industry will operate in the “park,” and what is the chance of any of the industries’ achieving free-market profitability? Does the place have reliable electricity and running water?
I wonder if anybody will tell them that they built it on the Wrong side of the Island??
Can’t think of a place that needs industry more than Haiti. They sure as heck can’t grow anything there any more.
But given the level of institutional corruption there, I don’t have much hope for it.
After the election maybe the Clinton’s will move to Haiti and become co-dictators.
There’s a scam or kickback in there somewhere.
will Bill and Hill be sharing the same tent?
I have a friend who was looking at the same property for a development project. He’d asked me to go do a water survey to see if there was sufficient for agricultural development.
Since he had not been there for 25 years, I did a bit of digging and learned of a South Korean garment manufacturer who had already begun steps to use the property. Then a hurricane hit the day we were supposed to fly over. The resultant abnormal heavy rainfall negated making an accurate water survey. So, I never made the trip.
There is a nice (small) harbor with a dock. It is just north of the main northern road to the Dominican Republic. Thus, it has land & water access.
I wish them well. Get people out of Port-Au-Prince! There are a lot of great, hard working people out in the Haitian countryside.
One article complained about the valuable farming land converted to industrial use. If my interpretation of Google Earth photos and available internet information is correct, this industrial park is situated on a former sisal plantation. Several US entrepreneurs have tried to make farming work there. Sisal prices died with the introduction of woven polyethylene feed sacks. The land has only been used for grazing in the recent past. There are a few farms south of the highway, but many of those are overgrown.
Haiti needs jobs. Whether or not a big international aid program will succeed is not certain. I would have preferred to let the Korean plant and other private projects test the waters.
Obviously, neither the Clintons or Sean Penn know beans about making a manufacturing program work.
Here is an interesting article about the history of this location.
http://www2.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/misctopic/dauphin/dunn.htm