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Haiti: Human Rights Groups Call for Audit of President's Education Fund
- Thursday, January 12, 2012 3:49 PM
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Written by External Source (see below)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) – Socio-political organizations have urged Haitian leaders to take the legality and management of the President’s National Fund for Education (FNE) seriously. The National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) urge Digicel and other carriers to take inconsistencies in the program seriously.
Organizations are responding to a statement made by Senator Jocelerme Privert (Nippes/Inite) who is the Chairman of the Senate Economy and Finance Committee who discovered $26 million [US] to be unaccounted for in the President's National Fund for Education.
This prompted Digicel CEO Denis O'Brien to call for an audit during an interview with the New York Times, published January 6th.
Pierre Esperance, the Director of RNDDH, spoke to a journalist from Vision 2000 Radio:
”We must all know is that Digicel is a company that financed the campaign of President Martelly, the way we understand things. The PDG (CEO of Digicel) is close to the power in place here.”
”How the Digicel CEO says there is $26 million [US] that has gone unaccounted, well then we hope that the authorities from the level of the state, the Central Bank, the Minister of Finance, and the Minister of National Education will give a clear explanation on these revelations or on these accusations…”
The Director General of the Directorate of Social Service, Professor Rony Deroches, recalled that there must be a legal framework and management with the FNE:
”What we have at this moment is a public fund that is being management and there are two things that are absolutely indefensible.”
”Firstly, these funds should have a framework that is legal. Unfortunately, the National Fund for Education is so far not legal. There must be a law that creates this fund.”
”Secondly, there must be a system of control. The only way for it to have a system of control it must be that this fund enters into the national budget, and at that point there will be other points of control that must be done…”
The National Coordinator of Haitian Citizens when in the same direction as Deroches:
”This is a fund for education. It is something of public interest…”
”The state needs a lot of money to do this… construct public schools, there must be research big things and big folders…”
”But what we say is the fashion that it was instituted was not correct. This could allow all types of mess to happen with it…”
The Director General of RNDDH has asked the Unit Fighting Against Corruption (ULCC) and other actors do their responsibility without constraint or partiality:
”At this moment an audit should be established. So that if there is money that has become unaccounted, or taken crooked paths, we must determine the responsible, who went into this fund what was it for and did they receive an order to return it…. And at this moment the law provides what steps should be taken.”
Related 01.11.2012: Haiti: President Martelly 'Can't Give Information' about Diaspora Tax Money
Related 01.10.2012: Haiti: Digicel Releases Statement on Education Tax Money
Related 01.07.2012: Haiti: Voilà CEO Robin Padberg Resigns
Related 01.06.2012: Haiti: Digicel CEO Wants to Know Where the Education Money
Related 01.05.2011: Haitian Teachers want Corrections to President's Free Education Program
Related 12.26.2011: Haitian Schools to Receive Loans from Credit Bank for Free Education
Related 12.14.2011: Haiti: Measures by Senate Aims to Resolve U.S. Currency Shortage
Related 12.13.2011: Haiti: Millions Collected for Education 'Nonexistent' says Senator
Related 12.02.2011: Haiti Private Schools Suffering with Parents Refusing to Pay
Related 11.26.2011: "National Fund for Education is not operational" says Haiti Education Minister
Related 11.25.2011: Rising Suspicions of Corruption in the Haitian Presidency
Related 10.18.2011: $26 Million [US] Missing from Haiti's National Fund for Education
Related 06.17.2011: Education Tax in Effect as $2 Calling Cards Drop from 22 Minutes to 6 Minutes
Related 05.27.2011: Martelly Launches National Fund for Education
Source: Vision 2000














































































