Jean Négot Bonheur Delva and His Seven (7) Years of Failure at the Head of the ONM

The National Migration Office, created to support internally displaced persons and repatriates, remains stuck in an embryonic stage under a leadership as amorphous as it is insipid, which has lasted too long.

This relatively young institution (decree of July 27, 1995) was established upon the return from exile of President Jean Bertrand Aristide after the 1991 military coup d'état exacerbated the scourge of clandestine journeys by a population always forced to escape misery and violence. It has a dual mission:

· to accompany repatriated compatriots with dignity;

· to discourage those tempted by self-exile through illegal and dangerous means.

Corruption as the Sole Policy

But for almost ten (10) years, this state body has been held hostage by a political sector through Jean Négot Bonheur Delva. The institution has become the private preserve of these mafiosi who have barely considered the mission for which it was created. It operates with complete opacity, and the population remains deprived of the services it should offer.

While internally displaced persons (IDPs) are abandoned to their fate and repatriates receive only a paltry sum to manage finding their relatives, suspicions of large-scale corruption repeatedly emerge, and the networks are well-known. It is enough to pay to keep one's position. There is no need to serve the population.

Repatriates receive no psychosocial support, no medical analysis of their health status, and even less support to facilitate their economic and social reintegration.

This capture has lasted almost ten (10) years, and not a single policy document on migration has been adopted by Mr. Bonheur Delva, even though Article 6 of the decree establishing the institution stipulates that the office has, among other specificities, the responsibility to «determine the ideal strategy for effective integration of repatriates, internally displaced persons, and to formulate concrete responses to problems related to the migratory phenomenon». In almost ten (10) years, none of this has happened.

A «Leadership» Without Real Vision

The institution is stunted. Lacking in vision and leadership, throughout all these years, the current leader has not built any departmental offices, nor has any serious space been arranged to welcome our compatriots with dignity. The staff, deprived of adequate and modern tools to work, operates as if in another era, unable to demonstrate its expertise.

This Inertia Has Lasted Too Long

At a time when Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé is trying to give new impetus to the administration, it seems appropriate to dismiss those who have not demonstrated competence. The mediocre functioning of this institution, which should be at the forefront to respond to current challenges (a high number of internally displaced persons, new migratory policies adopted by the US, the DR, and other countries in the region), should not last another day. It is time that at the highest level of the State, efforts are made to equip institutions with skills and resources so that they can properly fulfill their mission.