Member-only story
The Nation is Failing because of Lack of Vision and Priorities
Like many a few years ago, I was surprised by the amount of money allotted to each Senator and Deputy for Easter break; a total of 76 million gourds, over $1.000.000 U.S. dollar. The cost of a Senator or a Deputy is still very high for a poor country like Haiti. We have a system that has been designed to pay them (Senators) a basic salary of $150.000 gourds or $2142 U.S. dollars ($1 us=70 gourdes) per month. The State is also responsible for providing money for transportation (car(s), housing, phone bill, healthcare insurance, staff, etc.). Ideally, we’d have a group of productive politicians who could be held accountable for these expenses, but in many cases these senators and deputies do not even have an office you can go to or a team they are working with. Without a good team, they are unable to deliver on their promises, and in the worst case scenario, they are inaccessible to discuss issues in the communities they supposedly represent. How do they generally use the money they receive from the state? What are they doing if they are not doing the job they have been elected for?
It is reported many senators and deputies are using the money to pay debts they accumulated during the elections and the balance is being used for some of their supporters. The Haitian politicians have been very unproductive for the past 50 years, unable to…
