Haiti heartbreaking, says Helen Clark

Former prime minister Helen Clark, head of the United Nations Development Programme, today said visiting Haiti just days after the massive earthquake devastated the capital was heartbreaking.

Miss Clark visited the impoverished county a few days after the January 12 quake which struck the capital city Port-au-Prince, the centre of the country's commerce, government and communications, destroying or damaging the presidential palace, the national cathedral, churches and government buildings.

The Caribbean country of nearly 10 million was already suffering from a weak and impoverished economy. An estimated 250,000 were dead or missing.

Miss Clark became the Administrator of the UNDP last April and appeared before Parliament's foreign affairs committee today to brief it on the organisations's work.

Her former colleague, Labour MP Chris Carter, asked her about her visit five days after the quake.

"It was a terrible and devastating sight," she said.

Among buildings she visited was the hotel where the UN peacekeeping mission staff were based and nearly all of them killed.

"What you could see as you drove along the streets of Haiti was heartbreaking. Either buildings completely collapsed or you would see a crack running right through it or a porch falling off or a balcony clearly structurally unsound."

Miss Clark said the best aid operators had struggled to get assistance in because of the lack of infrastructure.

"Port-au-Prince airport would probably remind you of New Plymouth airport. It was used to about 12 flights a day, probably less than New Plymouth."

But suddenly it had to cope with 150 flights a day without its control tower which had collapsed. Sea access was limited to only two wharves - both damaged.

"It's been a nightmare. However, I think the relief effort as such is now running quite smoothly."

Miss Clark said her agency's focus at the moment was early recovery and it had thousands involved in jobs schemes. If the money was available that would be scaled up to 250,000 people who would help rebuild the city and gain valuable skills in the process.

"If we can raise the money... but it's a long hard road for Haiti which had so little before the earthquake and even less now."

At the moment the focus was on clearing rubble and the rebuild would cost "I don't know how many billions".

Miss Clark said two thirds of the country had not be damaged by the quake so there could be opportunities to work on decentralising the country.

Economists at the Inter-American Development Bank recently said the cost of rebuilding could reach nearly US$14 billion.

- NZPA