USAID Administrator Visits Local Governance Project in Haiti
Former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah visited the USAID-funded Limiyè ak Òganizasyon pou Kolektivite yo Ale Lwen Plus (LOKAL+) project in Haiti on December 15, 2014. Dr. Shah, accompanied by Haiti's USAID Mission Director John Goarke, Democracy & Governance Office Chief Melissa Rosser, and LOKAL+ COR John Beauvoir, visited several project sites. Tetra Tech is implementing this local government capacity-building effort.
LOKAL+ builds on the experience and lessons learned through two earlier projects that Tetra Tech implemented between 2007 and 2012. The project works in targeted communes to improve their administrative capacity to generate revenues and deliver public services. It addresses areas such as strategic planning, budgeting, tax collection, financial and program management, prioritizing of services, and outreach to citizens; it is also building the capacity of local institutions.
Shah praised LOKAL+ for its efforts in fiscal mobilization, local governance, transparency, and local capacity reinforcement. Dr. Shah commended LOKAL+ as an embodiment of USAID’s current priorities to strengthen the competencies of local entities. He also visited the fiscal department where LOKAL+ installed a tax and budgeting software, called CIVITAX , which is helping the commune increase their revenue.