The National Observatory for the Fight Against Corruption (ONLCC) Denounces the Opacity of a $542 Million Contract with Foreign Security Firms

The ONLCC wishes to inform the public that one year has already passed since this government, in concert with a group of mercenaries led by Erik Prince, began using drones in Haiti without any tangible results. More seriously, no government member wishes to communicate on the amount of this contract which, according to our sources, would be between 45 and 46 million dollars. This contract, executed in complete opacity with public treasury funds, has produced no results: none of the leaders of the « Viv Ansanm » coalition have been apprehended, much less neutralized.

Furthermore, the Observatory learned through the press that the contract with the firm Ever Green was validated for a period of 10 years by the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSCCA), for an astronomical amount of 542,634,238.00 USD. This is an over-the-counter contract, without a call for tenders, for which the Haitian State must advance 13,600,000.00 USD as mobilization fees. According to the newspaper Le Nouvelliste, this file had initially been returned by the Court of Accounts due to major irregularities.

The ONLCC raises the following questions:

1.- Why did the Court of Accounts, after noting formal defects, finally validate this file?

2.- Shouldn't a contract of such magnitude receive parliamentary approval to avoid any suspicion of corruption?

3.- In the absence of a Parliament, shouldn't this project have been the subject of a national debate before its implementation?

4.- Why are these funds not invested directly to mobilize and equip our Haitian Armed Forces (FAd’H) and the National Police (PNH)?

5.- Where does this persistent opacity regarding the management of public funds come from?

The Observatory strongly criticizes the Court of Accounts and the government for facilitating this contract with the Ever Green firm. It should be noted that Mr. Erik Prince (founder of the former Blackwater) has a troubled past: a $42 million fine paid to the American justice system for violating arms export rules, particularly in Afghanistan. The New York Times also recalls that his company was involved in the deaths of civilians in Baghdad in 2007.

The ONLCC reminds the CSCCA and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé that by validating this ten-year contract, they are undermining national sovereignty and opening a door to large-scale corruption, while risking the perpetuation of insecurity to justify the presence of these mercenaries.

In the interest of transparency and clarity, the ONLCC calls on the active forces of civil society and the political class to urgently comment on these costly security choices which, until now, have yielded no satisfactory results.

For authentication:

*Ricardo Fleuridor*