Can Bill Clinton Keep Corruption In Haiti In Check?

The donors conference on Haiti took place on Wednesday

at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Among the high level personalities present was former President Bill J. Clinton and his wife who have been criticized for having too much of a role in organizing the conference, as well for power grabbing the relief efforts for Haiti in general.

Since the January 12 earthquake, Bill Clinton has been actively mobilizing in getting the aid to needy Haitians. He has traveled to Haiti several times to meet with US, UN, and Haitian government officials and oversee the aid distribution for food, water, and shelter. Though former President George W. Bush has also paired up with Clinton for the mission, Bush’ role hasn’t been as active.

Washington Post’s Lee Hockstader called the donors conference, “the Bill and Hillary show.” Hockstader was simply repeating what a senior diplomat official had called the conference. The diplomat’s remarks were published in a New York Times article on March 30. Apparently, the US State Department exercised too much control over the event, pissing off some Europeans.

Hockstader’s blog post stated that the Clinton’s were the “focal points of power” at the conference, overshadowing even the UN’s Secretary Ban Ki-Moon.

THE CLINTONS’ REAL ROLE

While in Haiti I had the opportunity to interview Clinton during one of his visits in early February, and I was also able to record his conversations with other reporters. One of the things Clinton stated clearly was that he “didn’t want to be the governor of Haiti,” that he was there simply to carry out the relief mission.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also visited Haiti a few days after the earthquake. Her visit was brief due to the logistical problems of being there at the time. Yet, the Secretary has let her husband deal with the intervention to Haiti, while she prepared for her visit to Latin America. She began playing a more active role as the donor’s conference neared, letting her department coordinate the one-day affair with UN staff.

Bill Clinton has been working closely with the World Food Programme, and NGOs to make sure problems with the distribution can be resolved. His foundation donated 100 pick up trucks to Haiti so that food aid could be delivered to dense areas of Port-au-Prince. He has been working directly with Haiti’s President Rene Preval to make sure his government remains open to US intervention.

Because Bill Clinton’s role has been so paramount in pressing for proper management, sound planning, and accountability from the Haitian government, the UN has placed a great deal of power in his hands. He will be co-chairing a special commission to oversee rebuilding efforts, along with Haiti’s Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellarive.

Re-stating that his role is to oversee more so than command the re-construction of Haiti, Bill Clinton was straight forward about his intentions.

According to a radio segment by Pacifica Radio’s Free Speech Radio News, this is what Clinton said:

I want to thank the president, my long time friend, President Preval, for asking me and Prime Minister Bellarive to co-chair this interim commission. I would like to explain it to all of you that have questions: it is an interim commission.

Ever heard of “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer“? Well, in this case it’s a good thing that Bill Clinton openly expresses his friendship with Preval. In fact, that is perhaps the best strategy to have in order to keep a close eye on the dealings of the top head of the Haitian government.

Significant concerns have been raised about the Haiti’s government corruption. Millions of dollars for stabilizing the situation in Haiti and to build infrastructure that has been put in the hands of Haitians officials have disappeared. This happens quite often and the UN, the US, and everyone else knows about it. The world cannot afford to give $11 billion for the “smart reconstruction” of Haiti and have it go into the pockets of wealthy Haitians in the government. I think the public outrage over how much more chaotic the situation in Haiti has gotten after the earthquake demands for a system where every penny donated can be accounted for.

Bill Clinton is in the best position to oversee where the money goes. Yes, the Haitian people need to be involved in the process, however, those too need to be the right Haitians, not the gold-diggers in Preval’s government.

Haiti lacks advocacy groups and organizations that look after the interest of the people. This is not a situation where there are people that can be trusted and be involved in the planning of Haiti’s future, unless these are Haitians that live overseas who have a much better perspective for the potential their country has. The current Haitians in the government lack such a perspective making their mission to stash as much money as they can in Swiss bank accounts then get the hell away from the country. That’s exactly what Francois Duvalier aka “Papa Doc,” did — take the money and run to Paris.

It will be imperative that Haitians be taught to manage their own country responsibly and with integrity and for them to see that they don’t need to give up on their country. Through education, friendship, and mutual trust this could be achieved. It will require a change of heart for those in Preval’s leadership to the most lower-level civil servants. And, it will require that we, Americans, stay more on top of Haiti’s reconstruction and press for transparency until we get it.

Visit the NJP’s blog on Haiti: Eye On Haiti.

Follow Dolores M. Bernal on Twitter.

Visit Free Speech Radio News.

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