Hti: Bucks in the pipeline

US Ambassador to Haiti James Foley announced on Monday that the Bush administration has authorised the release of a further $100 million for Haiti.

These funds are in addition to the $55 million already committed for this year, as well as $5 million to help run the Organisation of American States (OAS) mission there.

Mr Foley said of the extra $100 million almost $35 million will be used to cover a budgetary gap left by the Jean Bertrand Aristide administration.

The World Bank will grant more than $50 million and the Inter American Bank (IADB) will also pour about $30 million into the Haitian economy by year’s end.

The European Commission (EC) has also made $30 million available while Canada has granted $10 million since February and France has promised to provide funds to help relaunch Haiti's economy.