Failure to Implement Decentralization in Haiti as a Constitution Mandate

As of 2023, after 36 years, Haiti has yet to implement decentralization successfully per its 1987 Constitution mandate. The situation that prompted this research literature is to fill the literature gap to investigate the elites' responsibilities and their neglectfulness to implement decentralization as mandated by the Constitution. The generic qualitative methodology was the selected design to better understand the reasons for Haiti, as of 2023, and after 36 years, to remain unable to implement decentralization per its 1987 Constitution mandate successfully. Policy feedback theory served as the theoretical foundation for this study. Data were collected from semistructured Zoom or telephone interviews with 16 participants. The target population comprised past or present public administrators, elected officials, and people of civil society with substantive knowledge of decentralization. The research questions focused on the reasons Haiti has yet to implement decentralization, the motivation of the elites not to implement decentralization per its 1987 Constitution mandate, and how to encourage them to move toward its implementation. Results revealed that the dominant classes were reluctant to change. Respondents agreed on the necessity of implementing deconcentration and decentralization for a better future for Haiti. The study lays out a new foundation for better comprehension of decentralization. Findings might offer policymakers information to enable them to move to decentralization implementation and develop progressive policies that are enforceable and beneficial to society in the long term.