The Best Course For Haiti
A proposal for a true political transition - Not a recycling of the failed leaders of the past.
I am releasing this essay amid rumors circulating in Haiti and on social media that Aristide was on the verge of returning to power as “governor” of Haiti.
Besides my general astonishment at the “news,” I thought it was a strange title for a head of government in a republic. “Governor of what?” I asked. We are still a republic, even if in name only, alas!
If Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a twice democratically-elected and twice-deposed former president of Haiti — paradoxically, were to be returned to power in Haiti by the U.S. Embassy there I reasoned then, it would be as Transitional PM or Transitional President…not as governor. “That makes no sense,” I muttered. Therefore, this is a fake story and should be dismissed as such, I concluded. This is not to dismiss possible negotiations or discussions in the search for a political settlement that may be going on behind closed doors with the Aristide camp. As the sole, somewhat credible senior statesman in Haiti, Aristide is still a potent political force.
Such designation of “governor,” however, is completely different from what I have proposed in the recent past: A Transitional Board Of Governors set up to look over Ariel Henry (now the CPT), the current de facto PM, and ultimately get rid of him in an orderly manner.
Ariel is not morally fit to be in charge of anything, and his presence at the helm of Haiti’s affairs should be a source of outrage for every living Haitian.
The Assembly Of A Board Of Governors
In my proposal, the Board of Governors would function similarly to a legislature or, more specifically, as a board of directors in a corporation to provide guidance, shape policies, oversee the ministries and authorities, determine salaries for the executive and judiciary branches, and set goals for the Transitional Executive Government to achieve.
My preference for the title of “governor” is to illustrate the clear distinction I wish to emphasize between a traditional legislative body and a governing body, which I will further describe below. This governing arrangement is being proposed for the transitional period only until constitutional order is restored in Haiti.
In this proposal, the Transitional Executive Branch, which would be led by a President and a PM, would not be the equal of the National Governing Board or the Board of Governors; the Transitional Executive Branch — including the Transitional President and the Transitional Prime Minister — would formally report to the governing board.
The individual members of the governing board would not be regional governors, however. Members of the board would be national governors of our country.
This would be a complex political undertaking, and I fear a lot of the questions this proposal will generate cannot be answered here in the interest of brevity. However, I believe that a complex problem is rarely solved with simple solutions and superficial responses. We need a clean sheet of paper, a new approach, and we must think and look outside the box for new ideas to mitigate Haiti’s leadership crisis.
With the political vacuum left behind after the barbaric assassination of President Jovenel Moise, it is imperative that Haiti’s citizens both at home and abroad come to an agreement on a credible new form of governance to tie us over and help heal the nation until the political climate is stabilized, and new elections are held to choose freely elected leaders who are not stained by current scandals, or beholden to their personal, narrow financial interests.
At this moment, there does not exist a constitutional path out of the mess that Haiti finds itself in. So a new path must be engineered - one that all Haitian citizens of goodwill would agree is fair, thorough, and transparent. Haiti’s regional leaders from every walk of life and every regional department of the country must rise up and join forces to generate the necessary political impact that will be impossible to ignore by the king-makers in the Haitian capital and in Washington, DC.
This proposed National Board of Governors would be fully representative of ALL ten (10) regional departments, unlike all those convoluted “accords” fabricated by the current power brokers of/in Port-au-Prince to benefit only the political and financial elites there.
Meaningful Diaspora Input Built-in
Each geographic department of our country would contribute three (3) members or governors to the national board; and each region would have the right to nominate one “local son/daughter” who is a member of the Haitian Diaspora at the time of nomination, to serve on the National Governing Board, if a region so chooses. This last feature would give the Diaspora a meaningful say in the affairs of our native land, but with the blessing of fellow citizens of the nominee’s native or adopted region.
This proposal calls for the establishment of a Governing Board of 30 members — with three (3) members allocated to each region. If each geographic region exercises its right or option to nominate one member who resides in the Diaspora, potentially the national board would be made up of 20 members who are current residents/citizens of Haiti and 10 members currently living abroad. This mix of diasporic citizens and native citizens would solely be at the discretion of each local region.
The product of the 2/3 to 1/3 ratio may not be exceeded. However, the 1/3 (Diaspora portion) may be smaller (and the 2/3 larger) if a region chooses to nominate no one from abroad. But in no circumstances can the number of board members exceed thirty — a group large enough to comfortably oversee the affairs of the nation, but not so large that compromises and consensus on vital decisions would be hard to achieve.
To Be Nominated for Service As a National Governor
To be chosen by your native or adopted region to be their representative on the National Board of Governors:
- He or she must be at least 30 years old at the time of nomination, in good legal and moral standing in Haiti and in all other countries he/she may have lived prior to the nomination.
- Be a Haitian citizen by birth and residing in the region he/she aspires to represent on the board.
- Or be a Haitian citizen by birth, but living in the Diaspora with Haitian citizenship or any other country’s citizenship.
- Or be a jus sanguinis (Haitian ancestry) individual of any citizenship with demonstrated interests in the welfare of Haiti and the region he/she seeks to represent, through financial investments in the country and other documented educational, charitable, or civic activities.
The Choice Of A Transitional President & Chief Executive
As proposed, the National Board of Governors, once seated, would elect a new Transitional President by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the board members in a multiple-ballot selection process. The first candidate who garners the support of two-thirds of the board members in an open or secret ballot vote (TBD) becomes our new Transitional President. The National Governing Board Secretary, assisted by the Inspector General of the board, would ensure that all balloting activities be public and transparent — even if the personal choice of candidates by board members remains secret.
In the interest of fairness and transparency, each regional delegation would be required to submit to the National Governing Board its favorite nominee designate for the post of Transitional President. The regional choice for the transitional president nominee would be arrived at by a consensus arrangement within each regional delegation.
A Popular Transitional President Nominee: A Good Problem
In the case where two or more regions favor the same nominee for Transitional President, the region that registers its vetted nominee first with the Secretary of the National Board of Governors would be awarded the honor of sponsorship. So, the region or regions that could not sponsor that same nominee as their first choice would then nominate their second or third best choice, so on and so forth.
Through such a process, the nation would generate a list of ten (10) solid, potential transitional presidential nominees — one from each region or geographic department — from which the National Board of Governors must select.
Every regional nominee for the post must be given a chance to showcase his or her qualifications for the job of Transitional President in open hearings before the governing board and the nation. The popular nominee would still remain a favorite to win the nod of the governing board, as the board members whose first choice he/she was, will have maintained the opportunity to advocate — and vote — for their preferred nominee, even if the nominee for Transitional President was sponsored by a different regional delegation.
A region’s favorite nominee for Transitional President does not have to be a native of that particular region. For example, a public opinion poll of the North-East department may reveal that residents there would prefer the candidate who was raised in the South region; whereas, South residents would favor the candidate who happens to be a native of the Artibonite region. Both regions win as both candidates would be placed in contention before the Governing Board for a national debate and final vote on who is best to lead the nation.
The selected presidential nominees would be Haitian citizens by birth - 35 years or older - currently residing in Haiti, or a returning Haitian citizen who has been regularly visiting Haiti for entrepreneurial, civic, educational, and charitable endeavors for at least five (5) years prior to nomination.
Proof of eligibility must also include tax payments to the treasury of the country for at least 5 years prior to the nomination, with taxes remitted monthly or annually, if he/she is a Haiti resident; or documented proof of significant financial investment in the country if he/she had been residing abroad. The latter candidate will have met the residency and nationality requirements even if they had lived in the Diaspora under a different nationality, provided such candidate/nominee is a citizen in good moral and legal standing in all previous jurisdictions, and he/she was born in Haiti.
The Choice Of A Transitional Prime Minister
To avoid the customary political chaos, shenanigans, and mischievous delays in the choice of a Transitional Prime Minister, the Board of Governors would submit a list of fully vetted potential Prime Minister candidates to the Transitional President from which to choose a Transitional Prime Minister. The vetting and eligibility requirements for the role of Prime Minister would be identical to those of the Transitional President. However, the nominating and selecting processes for Transitional PM would differ slightly.
Each governor on the national board would have the right and option to nominate a candidate of his/her choice for Prime Minister if he/she so chooses. Such a candidate would be added to the portfolio of potential PMs who would be formally submitted to the Transitional President, after having received a thorough vetting by a duly constituted electoral commission, a judiciary body, the national media, and ultimately the Board of Governors itself. Nominees for Transitional PM would be chosen through a simple majority vote of the National Board of Governors.
By giving each governing board member the choice or option to propose their own favorite candidate for Transitional PM (or one consensus candidate for their region), partisanship and political gamesmanship would be drastically reduced, as the system would be viewed as fair by all rational and patriotic participants. With political power equitably distributed throughout the national political class, we would be sowing the seeds for the demise of the “Republic of Port-au-Prince” without the need to move to full-fledged Federalism — a system of government advocated by some to promote decentralization — for which Haiti is unprepared.
Importantly, such an arrangement would, furthermore, permit the Transitional President to serve and collaborate with a TPM with whom he/she is compatible, philosophically, and that all had acknowledged to be competent - having been subjected to a thorough screening process - even in the presence of remaining ideological differences. No longer would it be possible to blackmail a president into choosing the candidate of one’s powerful clan to the detriment of the nation, irrespective of that candidate’s true allegiance and qualification.
Essentially, the Transitional President would be sent a list of at least ten (10) to at most thirty (30) intellectually qualified and ethically vetted nominees for the post of Transitional PM (10 candidates, if each region coalesces around a single favorite candidate; or as many as thirty (30), if each national board governor chooses to exercise their individual option). No one or no region could reasonably claim that their region or nominee was not fairly considered by using such an approach. This is how you construct a true governmental meritocracy in which each qualified individual has a truly fair shot at reaching the pinnacle.
The Transitional President would be required to pick a Transitional PM of his/her choice from the list of vetted nominees submitted to his/her office by the National Board of Governors. As a courtesy, the president or his designee would meet with - and review - the various nominees presented for his/her consideration. A list of finalists would be compiled and released by his office, and a final selection made.
The Transitional president’s choice for Transitional PM would be final, once his/her chosen nominee is formally announced to the Transitional Board of Governors and the nation via a presidential memorandum and the formal presentation of the transitional PM to the nation in a national address.
The Transitional President would be allowed 14 days to review and interview the nominees submitted to his office for consideration. The chosen Transitional PM must be sworn in by the president and the Chief Justice within 48 hours of his/her selection for the post by the Transitional President.
Dismissal of the Transitional President
During the transitional government period, the Transitional President would be dismissible by the National Board of Governors only for cause (crimes, moral failings, physical incapacity) by impeachment on the vote of twenty-six (26) members of the Board of Governors.
It is proposed that the Transitional President serve for one renewable term of three (3) years - the bare minimum amount of time it would take to set the country on the right path, in the opinion of this writer. The term of the Transitional President may be renewed at the pleasure of the National Board of Governors for a second term that is no longer than two (2) additional years - for a total of five (5) years - the maximum amount of time anticipated for a solid and durable transition to proper governance in Haiti, under a new constitution and with re-imagined institutions.
Transitional President Re-nomination For A Second 2-Year Term (if necessary & authorized)
If the Transitional President wishes to continue serving in his/her current post for a second two-year term, he/she must formally inform the National Governing Board of his/her intention to do so, at least sixty (60) days prior to the end of the initial three-year term. This request for extension of service by the Transitional President, however, can only be placed after the Governing Board has decided to extend the duration of the board itself by Unanimous Consent.
Additionally, for the Transitional President’s re-nomination request application to be actionable, the Transitional President’s petition for consideration must be accompanied by the notarized endorsement of at least ten (10) governing board members. The transitional president must also state in writing why the president believes an additional two years of service would be beneficial to the nation, what has been accomplished during his/her administration, for the past 3-year period, and what remains to be put in place to secure a completed transition. Otherwise, the request for re-nomination is invalid.
If the Transitional President fails to receive the public support of at least 10 members of the Governing Board by forty-five days prior to the end of his current three-year term, the re-nomination matter cannot be placed before the Governing Board. The Transitional President would have failed to demonstrate sufficient support on the Board of Governors and must resign office no later than by the end of his current term. In such a case, the Transitional PM would be automatically elevated to serve for the final two-year term the transitional president had been seeking.
Impeachment, Resignation, And Death Of The Transitional President
In the case of impeachment of the Transitional President, he/she would resign from office within 12 hours following the National Governing Board’s vote or be removed on orders of the board, if the twelve-hour limit is exceeded for any reason. Consequently, the serving Transitional PM would be automatically elevated to the post of Transitional President to complete the term of the impeached Transitional President. The Transitional President-designate (the current TPM) would be sworn in within 24 hours of the impeachment vote by the Chief Judge of the Haitian Supreme Court, accompanied by two fellow Supreme Court judges of the chief’s choice to bear witness or to substitute in a last-minute emergency.
The Transitional PM would also be elevated to the post of Transitional President in the case of death or resignation in a similar manner.
That assignment of power by the Supreme Court chief and his associates to the newly elevated Transitional President would be unchallengeable and irrevocable - in other words, final.
No More Games And Uncertainties In Presidential Successions
Gone would be the nonsensical notion that a Senate president or a Chief Justice should serve in the interim in a presidential vacancy. This is an invitation to corruption and political turmoil.
Neither the president of a legislative body nor a judge should be in the running for a presidential post - ever!
A Senate president should concern himself/herself with oversight of the executive branch and make sure that our national laws are faithfully executed in accordance with the will of the people and their representatives. The Chief Judge should preoccupy himself/herself with the impartial dispensation of justice. That’s it!
Elevating the Transitional PM as the successor of a resigning, impeached, or disabled Transitional President would naturally create a vacancy for the post of Transitional PM, however.
In the interest of time, and due to the fact that we would have a “deep bench” of recently vetted nominees for TPM, the Board of Governors would follow the same process described above for the choice of Transitional President and place at most ten (10) new Transitional PM nominees - one consensus nominee from each regional delegation — on the newly-elevated Transitional President’s desk in no later than thirty days (30 days) after the vacancy has been declared. The time clock on the PM vacancy initiates twenty-four hours (24 hours) after the installation of the new Transitional President.
The Transitional PM would be impeachable and dismissible in a similar manner to the Transitional President (the vote of 26 members of the board), and the Transitional PM must meet the same eligibility requirements for service as the Transitional President.
Role of the Transitional Prime Minister
Though the Transitional PM would be selected and serving at the pleasure of the Transitional president on projects assigned by the president, the president may NOT dismiss the PM for ANY reason. The PM’s fundamental or primordial roles in the Transitional government are to provide continuity and stability during succession, to substitute for — or replace — the president in case of impeachment, resignation, or any vacancy — temporary or permanent, and to break tie votes on the National Governing Board.
In the occurrence of a tie vote on the board, the Transitional PM would break the tie vote, presumably in favor of the Transitional president’s position, though the PM would not be required to do so. The TPM is not bound by any rule when it comes to his personal ballot — other than that of his conscience and free will.
The Transitional PM would be forbidden to vote in favor of — or against — his/her own impeachment and that of the Transitional president. Aside from the prohibition of voting on the impeachment of the top two executive leaders of the Transitional government, the Transitional PM would be required by “law” (rule) to break any tie vote of the board, if physically able to do so — that is: if he/she is not confined to a sick bed.
This proposed transitional governing arrangement would be in effect until all the constitutional issues are settled in Haiti through the adoption of a new constitution via a national referendum, and all legislative and judiciary seats are filled according to a new/amended permanent constitution.
The Fate Of The Current Senate (we had the remnant of a Senate when this proposal was initially written)
The useless, corrupt, and ineffective so-called “1/3 Senate” we have now would cease to exist and be replaced by the Three-third (3/3) governing body proposed herein. That is assuming the One-third Senate would be in existence at the time of implementation of this proposal. A fully representative, transparent National Governing Board would render the current Senate — or what is left of it — superfluous, as the entire population of the Republic of Haiti would not just be thoroughly represented; effectively, the Haitian people would be in charge of their government through their freely chosen regional representatives. The National Board of Governors would therefore declare the one-third senate defunct.
The National Governing Board’s First Order Of Business
The National Governing Board, once constituted and seated at the conclusion of a National Convention of Regions or a National Citizens Congress that is fully representative of the entire nation, would:
- Elect their governing chair and co-chair by majority vote
- Select/hire by majority vote the Secretary of the Board of Governors.
- Declare to the whole world, in the Name of the Sovereign People of Haiti, that the National Governing Board is the sole, legitimate, governing authority for the country.
- Select a Transitional President in the manner described above.
- Declare that all orders of the current de facto regime are null and void anywhere in the world, and demand the unconditional resignation of Ariel Henry (now the CPT) or pursue their removal from power by all means necessary.
- Remind the Chief of Police formally that henceforth he reports to the Board of Governors, as the true representative of the people of Haiti, and to the Transitional President elected by the governing board.
- Select nominees for Transitional PM also in the manner described above.
- Select/hire by a 2/3 majority vote an Inspector General for the Board of Governors (An independent watchdog — dismissible by Impeachment only).
- Select/hire by a 2/3 majority vote a Rules Arbitrator for the Board of Governors (An independent, parliamentary rules Judge — dismissible by Impeachment only).
- Select/hire by a 2/3 majority vote an Inspector General for the Transitional Executive Administration (An independent watchdog- dismissible by Impeachment only).
- Set up an 11-member Transitional Electoral Commission (with one consensus candidate from each regional delegation chosen by a majority vote of the board, plus an eleventh (11th) member chosen by a 2/3 majority vote of the board.
- Name eleven (11) qualified Associate Judges to Haiti’s Supreme Court — one judge per region and one at-large, tie-breaking judge, when/if a tie-breaking vote becomes necessary
- Set up an Anti-Gang/Anti-Crime Commission to study and tackle crimes.
- Set up a National Forensic Financial Audit Commission made up of top national and international accounting experts to quantify our current national assets, our national debt, and the theft of national treasure.
- Set up a Presidential Assassination/Accountability Commission.
- Set up a 30-member Constitutional Amendment Commission with one qualified member selected/nominated by each governing board member and the rest chosen from various sectors of the country.
- Set up a National Sanitation and Beautification Commission to put an end to the filth that is swallowing our nation, and to begin the restoration of the “Pearl Of The Caribbean”.
- Set up a National Development & 5-Year Strategic Plan Commission to study and propose ambitious goals for the nation to achieve. These goals would be part of the measurement metrics for the chief executive’s job performance.
- Establish a Commission to select a team of Haitian civil engineers and architects from Haiti and abroad to rebuild the National Palace to end this national embarrassment. The project must be completed within 2 years and in a manner that no act of God or nature, heretofore known to man, can destroy. The scale and majesty of the new construction must surpass that of the old structure, be the pride of all Haitians, and be a source of befuddlement for all our doubters. Construction is to be financed by the National Treasury, or by secured loans from Haitian banks, or National Palace Construction Bonds issued by the National Bank of Haiti for purchase by proud Haitians living around the world.
- Instruct the Transitional President and Haiti’s Foreign Services to begin and launch the process of preparing Haiti’s application to become an associate member or full member of the African Union.
I believe that the National Board of Governors and the Transitional government would remain — not just necessary — but indispensable for at least three years after taking over from the Ariel Henry regime (now the CPT); and at most five years to shepherd the nation out of the current morass. At the conclusion of the three-year term, the Board of Governors will take stock of progress made toward the formation of the resilient foundational structures the board is mandated to construct for the nation, and make a determination by unanimous-consent vote whether to prolong its mandate for an additional two-year term.
If one wishes to be honest, a period of five years may actually be the minimum amount of time it would require to set Haiti on proper and lasting institutional foundations. Rushing this process for the sake of expediency and to satisfy powerful politicians burning with the fever of presidential ambition would not work out well for the nation. And we run the risk of falling deeper into chaos if we don’t get it right.
Extension of the 3-year Governing Board mandate (if necessary)
If a majority of Governing Board members deem that it would be beneficial to the nation to prolong the mandate of the board for an additional two-year term, a petition, duly signed by 20 members of the board, must be presented to the chairman of the board, indicating the desirability of such action and the reason for such prolongation. The chairman of the Board would thus be authorized to place the matter to a vote before the Board of Governors. However, such a measure must pass the board by Unanimous Consent in order to take effect; and the consent of every member of the board must be placed on the open record by the Secretary of the Board.
Fairness and impartiality
Because of the inherent fairness, transparency, impartiality, and non-partisan political power-sharing features designed into this proposal, there would be no necessity to rush into new elections with ill-prepared and unreformed institutions, as every transitional leader in the transitional administration would be fully accountable to the people of their region and the nation.
This is so, however, only if we are truly serious about building a durable foundation for a prosperous and democratic Haiti.
A Federalist Form Of Government, This Proposal Is Not
Hopefully, this proposal will quiet those clamoring for a federalist form of government in Haiti — or worse, the iron-fisted forms of government of the past. To return to the embrace of the latter is short-sighted; this path would not lead to the Haiti we all want. We have been there. We ought to know better. And to embrace the former is impractical at this juncture.
Frankly, Federalism is not necessary for the proper administration of the affairs of the country. Though they are well-meaning, when you talk to the proponents of a federalist system in Haiti, you quickly sense that their advocacy is essentially a marketing ploy. They seek a “marque de distinction” to easily differentiate themselves from the vast pack of “solutions” peddlers and political charlatans — of which we have too many in Haiti.
The supporters of the federalist path are quick to put forward as models the success of advanced countries like Canada and the USA, as if to suggest that the absence of a federalist system in Haiti is what has brought Haiti to this virtual anarchy. That is not so.
Haiti does not possess: 1) the vast landmass, which makes a federalist system practically obligatory in a participatory democracy; 2) Haiti simply cannot jump from the current chaotic and miserable condition to a federalist system. That is logistically unworkable and even impossible at this time; and 3) federalizing poverty, misery, and chaos would certainly multiply and magnify poverty, misery, and chaos — at least in the short term and mid-term.
Additionally, the leaders of the Federalist movement have strategically withheld telling their partisans that, in order to federalize the governance of Haiti, a federal constitution would be required, in addition to several “state” constitutions.
We can decentralize Haiti — a virtuous goal of the Federalism proponents — without a federalist system. My proposal does that in a serious way — including arming each regional delegation with a filibuster “weapon” that enables any 3-member regional delegation to join forces to block any proposal on the National Board, which may harm their region or the nation, in their assessment.
We must set aside the Federalism fantasy. What Haiti desperately needs right now are men and women of devotion, compassion, integrity, and accomplishments to shield her from her national oligarchic abusers, servile leaders, and her geopolitical dominators. In their place, Haiti needs servant-leaders as described by Robert Greenleaf in his seminal essay, to nurse her back to prosperity, dignity, and (real) sovereignty. This transitional government proposal would help us achieve these goals if faithfully adopted.
Termination of the National Board Of Governors
The board and the entire transitional leadership would cease to exist upon the election and swearing-in of a new president and vice-president (My preference is to move to a presidential (vice-presidential) form of government), under a new constitution and transparent electoral rules. A new legislature would also be voted in ahead of presidential elections, according to the guidelines of the permanent constitution.
No member of the herein proposed transitional leadership team would be eligible to serve as elected leaders in the post-transition, democratically elected government for the next five years immediately following the mandate of the transitional government. This is proposed to ensure that all decisions of the National Governing Board and the Transitional President are made in the best interest of the nation, rather than to feather the nests of incumbents.
A Time for Service To The Motherland
No double-dipping will be permitted. Serving in the transitional government we are proposing, either as a national board member or a top executive in the transitional administration, will be regarded as a service-gift to the nation. As such, we shall only offer minimal remuneration to the servants in these positions to save money to meet the nation’s pressing needs.
No one who serves in the top positions of the transitional government — from board member to the Transitional president, from the Transitional PM to the top cabinet members — none will receive a monthly salary that exceeds that of a secondary school teacher or a police officer — whichever is less. NONE!
Naturally, expenses related to job performance would be covered or refunded. However, all expenses will be faithfully audited by the Inspector General of the National Board of Governors or the Inspector General of the Transitional Executive Administration.
As a nation, we must put to rest once and for all the perception (and at times, reality) that all of Haiti’s public servants are in office to suck the blood out of the Haitian people; to rob and embezzle public funds; to purchase the latest fancy cars; and to build villas in the Hills of Haiti, in the suburbs of Santo-Domingo or on the Florida sea coast. We would welcome servants with significant means or little means. But their assets must be accounted for at the beginning of their service so that there is no shadow of suspicion on any of the country’s servants.
One’s character will be the ticket to admission for service. Your credentials or connection, no matter their esteem, will not make up for deficiencies of character. “No fear or favor” will once and for all mean something in the administration of the affairs of our country.
Give Haiti A Chance!
This will be a time for sacrifice and service to the nation. If your aim as an aspiring leader is to get rich quickly at the expense of the people of Haiti by pillaging the treasury while you are serving in a high public post, a transitional position job is not for you. Just stay away. Give Haiti a chance!
This is what we will need to do if we are serious about providing Haiti with a proper transitional government that is not beholden to the same incompetent politicians, criminals, and traitors who have dragged Haiti into its present condition.
We cannot afford to allow the same players to return to power legally under the cover of a “new” process prearranged to perpetuate the status quo, and bury even deeper the evidence for their past and current malfeasance. This would be tragic. Our homeland has suffered enough. We must end this national shame!
We need a fresh start with Haitian citizens residing in Haiti and abroad who are NOT for sale to the highest bidder and who would place the interests of Haiti and Haitians above all other considerations.
Let us begin the task of identifying such leaders and supporting them.
The Support of The Global Haitian Diaspora Is Critical
The biggest delusion we must overcome in the Diaspora, as I see it, has been the mistaken belief that we can save Haiti on the cheap, with mere talk, zoom meetings, a rare, poorly organized, and sparsely attended pro-Haiti demonstration here and there in some city in the diaspora.
Nothing can be further from reality. We will have to put “skin in the game,” and we may even have to put blood.
We sure have enough “clean money” in the diaspora to battle the “criminal money” being spent in Haiti to buy power and access and to maintain control of the system for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. There will not be a free ride to the new Haiti!
In addition to supporting our folks back home for subsistence with our remittances, equally important is providing monetary support for enduring political activities in Haiti, led by leaders financed with clean (hard-earned) diaspora money.
In this battle for Haiti’s soul, we will need to hire an army of fearless political activists in Haiti to organize the people in their respective regions to demand real change. We must be in the know about everything the Haitian government is doing- good or bad- to encourage it or to counter it. In other words, to put in place the Haiti we want, social and charitable endeavors will not cut it. We need to get in the face of the current “leaders” with our own employees, whose job it will be to do so. Therefore, our political workers will need to be protected against physical harm and compensated commensurately.
We must “plant the flag” (so to speak) of the New Haiti in all of our ten (10) departments by opening a physical political bureau in each to coordinate our political actions in these localities and logistically support our organization’s workers and meet their personal and family needs.
Our compatriots who choose to expose their lives in Haiti for all of us to bring about change, while we go safely about our occupation in the Diaspora, must be financially supported and shown our appreciation. We Will!
Also, we must stop looking down on them and blaming them for Haiti’s condition. That is cowardly and shameful. The blame for the current state of affairs in Haiti must be borne by all of us — especially by those of us who have turned our backs on our homeland. The folks back home who are still resisting the thugs in their neighborhood and the crooks in the ministries are our heroes and deserve our respect — not our condescension!
Even though our workers on the ground would be engaged in non-violent, community-building, and organizing work, we must be prepared to protect and defend them in certain areas where their lives may be in danger. We should employ armed guards who would be fully equipped for such a mission.
And if any of our innocent workers is harmed in the exercise of their civil rights to liberate our country from the grip of criminals in high and low places, we will be keeping scores. And we will make certain that justice is brought to the criminals’ doors when the tide turns or even before, wherever we can.
Let’s be serious. None of this can be done on Zoom or WhatsApp. That takes boots on the ground and serious financial resources that must come in large part from the Diaspora. In fewer words: We need to spend money — Big money!
Where will the money come from?
The money will come from those of us in the Diaspora (Canada, America, France, Brazil, Chile, etc.) who are determined to bring an end to Haiti’s nightmare and from the few idealistic, well-off Haitian citizens who still choose to remain in Haiti despite the danger to them, their family, and their enterprise.
According to Wikipedia, in the United States alone, we have over 2 million Haitians and/or Haitian-Americans. This is a huge number and a potentially powerful asset if used skillfully. In Canada, we number 165,000, and in France, 62,000, to name only the countries with their boots on Haiti’s neck, and the richest ones. Our total diaspora population is over 3 million souls and growing daily.
Let’s do some basic math. If only 1 million Haitians would donate $1 per week to this noble cause, that would amount to $1 million per week or $52 million per year. Every Haitian living in the advanced countries of the world can contribute $1 per week to this fight.
If 1 million Haitians would contribute $5 per week — the cost of two cups of coffee — that would amount to $5 million per week or $260 million per year, with virtually no significant financial impact on the donors. I don’t know any caring Haitian living in the U.S., France, or Canada who is unable to donate $5 per week, if asked by a serious and reputable nationalist organization.
Think of it this way: until we fully regain our sovereignty, we need to view Haiti and her current leaders as a puppet show. All puppets have a master or a puppeteer. So we must “talk” to the master directly if we don’t like the show.
The puppeteer before us is America and her sidekicks (France, Canada, and corrupt Haitians — the oligarchs and their dark-skinned political butlers who nominally run Haiti).
Here you need to recall something I wrote recently: “America — the puppeteer — runs on money and electoral votes.” With a mere fraction of our collective wealth and our electoral strength in the U.S., we can persuade the puppeteer to change course. Oh, yes, we can!
If you doubt me, you need to go read up on Cuban political power in Florida.
By the way, the U.S. politicians we need in our corner don’t necessarily have to be ethnic Haitians. In America, money and political power talk regardless of ethnicity. However, the money and the political power must be organized, or they will have no effect.
For example, if you live in Florida, Rep. Val Demings (current candidate for U.S. Senator) must know she owes her seat to our ethnic base there. The same should be true in NY, Massachusetts, and NJ — states with substantial ethnic Haitian populations.
Therefore, we in the Diaspora must immediately set up a powerful political lobbying organization flush with cash and girded with entrenched political muscle to protect the interests of our nation.
The cash will be supplied to our coffers in the manner described above. We can change every nefarious U.S. policy in Haiti with one or two U.S. senators standing in our corner. That is how powerful a U.S. senator is in America’s political system. Politicians will take note of our bank account, the tenacity of our activists, and the cost to their career, and will assume the proper posture. That is a guarantee!
But first, Haitians and Haitian-Americans must get our phone calls answered in Washington, DC. That happens only if the phone number for our Political Action Committee (PAC) is 1–800-H-DOLLAR.
On the House of Representatives side, we already have natural allies among the leaders of The Black Caucus. The Democratic Party is paralyzed without its Black leaders. That gives them power they can wield on behalf of The First Black Republic. And they will, I am certain.
Still, these relationships too must be nurtured by our intellectuals, socialites, sports stars, and other reputable Haitian or Black celebrities, and by savvy lobbyists who would be on our payroll — professionals who know how to wine and dine the powerful and grease the system to Haiti’s benefits. We must stop being amateurs and use the political machinery to full effect, as other immigrant groups have.
Throughout the management of our PAC, integrity will/must be our North Star — the same as it would be in our transitional government proposal above. Our proposed PAC would meet the concerns of donors with ease. Every single dollar raised would be fully accounted for in a transparent auditing system accessible online to all contributors via a Personal Identification Number (PIN). Our supporters would be able to observe online the inflow of every dime rolling in and all outgoing expense payments through their privileged access. We must regain the trust of our compatriots as they have been hoodwinked by too many con artists in the past. We will!
Additionally, the supporters will be informed on a regular basis of how much money is raised, where and how the money was used, and review progress reports on milestones achieved in our quest to wrestle control of Haiti from the “legal bandits” and their murderous gangs. Obviously, personal information on our political workers and their local organizations would remain confidential for their security.
A Multilayered, Double-Prong Approach To This Fight Is Crucial
With this well-funded organization behind us, the fruits of our investments in the “New Haiti” will not be far away. We will adopt a double-barrel approach: we will be in a position to move mountains in Washington, DC by applying real political pressure on the patrons of the Haitian government here and level mountains in Port-au-Prince by our ferocious activism there. The corrupt money circulating in Haiti will have met its match of clean, hard-earned, organized diaspora money — at last. And the political fight to reclaim Haiti for all her children and admirers around the world will have begun in earnest.
We must once and for all agree to stop playing games with a bunch of killers who had no qualms about murdering a president in his bedroom — in the presence of his wife — with their children as hearing witnesses. This is unacceptable, regardless of what you thought of the deceased president.
While we cannot allow ourselves to descend into the gutter with these degenerates out of legal and moral constraints, we must not shy away from taking risks within the limits of the law and employ all morally defensible means at our disposal to reach our goals: The Liberation Of Haiti.
The fundamental question each one of us who talks about Haiti would have to answer is the following: Is Haiti worth it? If the answer is Yes, then we will have to step off the sideline and invest serious financial resources in the New Haiti, accordingly. We must place our collective wealth where our passion is to attain this New Haiti. Or we are merely fakers, dreamers, and talkers waiting for miracles. The financial burden on each one of us will barely be noticeable if we come together and aggregate our resources.
My faith in miracles is pretty thin. I sincerely hope yours is demonstrably healthier and more productive.
Let us instead put our money and intellect where our heart is! Let us engage and do the work. Only then will we see real results and better days for our beloved homeland. The transparent, rules-based, and representative Transitional Government I am proposing here for Haiti would be a giant step in that direction.
Guerton “Babi’ Auguste, an electromechanical engineer, lives in Boston, MA
The author can be reached at bbauguste@gmail.com or on Twitter at: @MagnAyiti
The author wishes to have this proposal be baptized: The Lascahobas National Transitional Government Proposal in honor of his Haitian birth town. (“The Lascahobas Proposal” - for short)
