Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. - Delegates from 28 countries and multilateral organisms proposed Wednesday in the Dominican capital the creation of a structure to manage the funds for Haiti’s reconstruction after the quake, with an initial pledge of US$3.8 billion.

“A governing committee integrated by Haiti’s Government and the donors will administer the fiduciary fund, with the World Bank an overseeing agent," said a statement issued in Santo Domingo.

The declaration also states that the donors pledge 3.8 billion dollars to finance the reconstruction and recovery of high-priority needs, and the fiduciary fund will manage that amount.

The international community will request a commitment from Haiti for the good management of the economic aid. "The government of Haiti must respond to this request from now until March 31, because they are resources from taxpayers of the donor countries,” said Dominican Economy minister Temístocles Montas, the forum’s coordination.

Shortly before the declaration’s release Haiti Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive said several aspects of the aid and its handling were addressed in the meeting.

"The topic which we discussed isn’t only money, but what is the plan for the financing and what are the procedures that are going to be set forth to manage that fond,” he said quoted by AP.

Bellerive said his government suggested the creation of a trust to manage the international financial aid. “We want a single fund, a global management by all the partners who work with Haiti."

The Haiti official participates in the conference in Santo Domingo since Tuesday, to a plan Haiti’s reconstruction, to be presented on March 31 in the United Nations Summit convened with that purpose. In his speech he clarified that although his government awaits the creation of a global fund Haiti must assume the leadership in its own reconstruction.  "It’s not about a nationalistic speech on sovereignty but a speech on effectiveness and efficiency, which is the only way in which we could be successful. I repeat it without being flippant, Haiti is the institution to prepare Haiti for tomorrow."

The participants in the event, Dominican president Leonel Fernandez among them, debated behind closed doors the proposal of the trust or another type of entity to manage the funds.

A study presented Tuesday in the United Nations, by Haiti’s Government and the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank estimates that 11.5 billion dollars are required in three years to boost the least developed Caribbean nation and the Western Hemisphere’s poorest.

"Haiti’s situation isn’t limited only to a recovery from damages and the losses, instead it’s necessary to address an integral development strategy," said Fernandez in a speech to the forum’s delegates. He called on the assistants to urgently provide 130,000 tents to shelter the victims and announced that his government will build a university in Port-au-Prince together with Haiti’s authorities.

The UN study also specifies that the quake’s damages reached 7.7 billion dollars, 72% of which -5.6 billion - were losses in private infrastructure; 1.33 billion in damages to the productive sector; 1.32 in private investments and the remaining 3.1 million in the public sector.

Bellerive had told the AP that in the US$11.47 billion proposal for reconstruction "still isn’t clear" how much should correspond to credit and donations for the State and what part would be allocated to private initiatives. “All those funds aren’t going to enter the Government’s aid pool," and estimates that Haiti’s Government only requires around 4.0 billion dollars during the next three or four years.

As to financing for private initiatives the Head of Government noted that "we must create a system so the multilateral banks finance it" through local banks.

The official count presented Tuesday puts the quake’s material damages at 121% of Haiti’s gross domestic product, which reached 6.39 billion dollars in 2009.