Haitian government gives a check of nearly 15 million gourdes to each political party in the country
Posted by LeNouvelliste on Monday, March 19, 2018 Under: Corruptions
Of the 57 political organizations eligible to receive public funding, 46 have already withdrawn their checks from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Since the beginning of the check distribution process, some political structures have been divided, others have lost their leader.
Basically, this funding should be used to strengthen and institutionalize political parties as required by the January 2014 law. This is the opposite effect in some cases.
After the political platform VERITE, divided because of the financing of the State, this week it was the big public unpacking between the two main leaders of the political platform Pitit Dessalines. While from the beginning, Jean-Charles Moïse, secretary-general, had clearly rejected any idea of accepting some 4.2 million gourdes, Dr Frantz Perpignan, deputy secretary-general, confirmed that he had to take the money to pay off some debts organisation. Since then, both men are at loggerheads.
Eric Jean Baptiste and Charles-Henri Baker had already resigned from their respective political parties MAS and RESPÈ to express their opposition to this funding.
According to the Monitoring Committee for the Financing and Institutionalization of Political Parties (COSFIPP), of the 57 political parties that can claim financial assistance for their operation, 46 have already withdrawn, as of March 12, 2018, their grant checks for the months of October, November and December 2017, for an amount of approximately one hundred and twenty seven million forty-four thousand six hundred and thirty-nine (127,044,639) gourdes.
11 parties have not yet withdrawn their checks; the amount of these checks amounts to 15 million gourdes. Seven parties, namely the RDNP, KONTRA PEP LA, Fanmi Lavalas, RPH, PONT, LIDE and Konfyans refused or are at least reluctant to take their checks, according to the COSFIPP which was responsible for finding an agreement between the political parties on the mode of financing.
Moreover, two political parties, Patrayil and Veye Yo, refuse to accept their checks, believing that the amount allocated to them is too low. The COSFIPP stresses that the representatives of MAS and MOPOD are not found. As a result, the remaining $ 15 million will be returned to the Public Treasury in the budget for political party financing. "For now, only the 46 parties that have been able to withdraw their checks will continue to receive public funding," says COSFIPP.
According to the law on the financing and institutionalization of political parties, 1% of the national budget is devoted to political parties according to their scores in the most recent elections. Each party is entitled to an amount every month. At this level, Mathias Pierre, coordinator of the COSFIPP, informed the Nouvelliste that for the months of January and February, the parties will receive checks from the Treasury instead of management checks from the BRH since it now has documents parties and their (National Fiscal Identification ) NIFs.
"... the report's recommendations are formally accepted by the government. There remains the decree establishing the Center for the Strengthening and Institutionalization of Political Parties (CRIP) and the Institute for Political Training to be set up, " he said.
"From now on, on a monthly basis, the Haitian State will intervene to contribute to the financing of all political parties meeting the requirements of the law", announced the Minister of the Economy and Finances, Jude Alix Patrick Salomon, last January at the first payment. But that was before the budget deficit of more than nine billion gourdes.
Regarding the first installment of funding, the ruling party, the PHTK, has received the lion's share since it holds the largest number of elected representatives in Parliament and local authorities. The party of Jovenel Moses has removed a check of more than 19.8 million gourdes at the Ministry of Finance.
For its part, VERITE, the second largest political organization in the country, received more than 13.4 million gourdes; Kid more than 10.4 million gourdes; OPL more than 10 million gourdes; AAA more than 9.2 million gourdes; Shield about 8.8 million; INITE more than 8.6 million gourdes; Pitit Dessalines more than 4.2 million gourdes; LAPEH more than 4.2 million gourdes ... Fanmi Lavalas should have more than 6 million gourdes, but party officials refuse funding.
In : Corruptions
