{"id":4642,"date":"2020-02-19T13:01:06","date_gmt":"2020-02-19T18:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=4642"},"modified":"2020-02-19T13:01:06","modified_gmt":"2020-02-19T18:01:06","slug":"systematically-the-dictatorship-is-evolving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/?p=4642","title":{"rendered":"Systematically, the Dictatorship is evolving"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>HAPPENINGS!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Systematically, the Dictatorship is evolving<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Following his dismissal, in a January 12 tweet, of 10 Senators still with a mandate of two more years, Haiti\u2019s President Jovenel Mo\u00efse\u2019s decree of February 12, is another full power grab, which will allow him to grant government contracts without oversight. Unquestionably, that\u2019s another step down the path of a new dictatorship<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On February 12, a decree was published in the official State gazette, Le Moniteur, through which the president attempts to grab all power regarding State contracts with private individuals and firms, as well as with foreign entities. Obviously, President Mo\u00efse intends to bypass the High Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes (French acronym CSC\/CA), which is constitutionally mandated to oversee and approve State contracts. It\u2019s that same organization which, in two reports concerning the heist of the PetroCaribe Fund, had revealed that businessman Jovenel Mo\u00efse, even before becoming president, had used his firms in a \u201cscheme\u201d to defraud the State in getting road building contracts, fields unrelated to their agricultural specialty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If the CSC\/CA agency is robbed of its constitutional mission, the president will be free to get into all sorts of contracts, benefitting his friends. In addition, he\u2019ll be able to sell Haiti\u2019s underground wealth to certain foreigners, especially the Qatari princes, who have shown much interest in exploiting Haiti\u2019s minerals, such as gold, copper, silver, iridium and even petroleum products.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Haitian lawyer Andr\u00e9 Michel, well known as a defender of Haitian rights, made a thorough analysis of what he considers a \u201cDanger to the Nation.\u201d In a copy made available to the Haiti-Observateur, he blows open the hatch on the decree, which will open the doors for the country to be raped by foreign interests and local overlords conspiring with the president.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">First, Attorney Michel considers the decree unconstitutional, because of the nature of the individuals said to have approved it. \u201cAfter deliberations of the cabinet,\u201d said the decree, \u201cthe following action was taken.\u201d Since March 2019, the cabinet is composed of holdover ministers who are \u201chandling current matters,\u201d until a legitimate government is installed. No such government has emerged. Probably, President Mo\u00efse wanted it that way, so he could use his rubber-stamped cabinet to do his bidding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Attorney Michel describes the decree as a \u201cBoulevard prepared for President Mo\u00efse and his de facto government. . . . Through this decree, Jovenel Mo\u00efse and his government have arrogated to themselves full power in defiance of the Constitution, the laws of the Republic and the principles of separation of powers and financial transparence, the fight against corruption and the permanent control of the CSC\/CA.\u201d Moreover, he maintains that the decree goes against the principle \u201cof the polity of bidding and of sound management of State affairs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The expert lawyer zeroes in on Article 2 of the said decree, stating that the \u201cExecutive considers that public bids relating to electricity and government activities in search of development [of the country] undertaken with certain individuals and other States. . . reinforce the stability and the development of the nation . . . and are of the domain of National Security.\u201d In other words, any- thing the government undertakes could be deemed of importance for \u201cNational Security,\u201d and be solely the privilege of the Executive. \u201cBy its vagueness,\u201d states Mr. Michel, \u201cArticle 2 considers all aspects of National life as related to national defense and is important to National Security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The practical aspect of implementing this decree is \u201cmore important yet,\u201d according to Mr. Michel: \u201cWith this decree, Jovenel Mo\u00efse can give juicy electricity contracts to his friends,\u201d adding: \u201cNow we begin to understand why SOGENER [the private electricity provider] had to be annihilated.\u201d In addition, he explains: \u201cWith this decree, Jovenel Mo\u00efse can easily enter into contracts with foreign companies interested in exploiting our mines and our underground [wealth].\u201d In Creole, he interjects:\u201cJovenel Mo\u00efse intends to sell all of Haiti\u2019s underground wealth.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">He continues: \u201cWith this decree, Jovenel Mo\u00efse may give contracts of great financial importance to his friends in all domains of national life, as long as in Cabinet deliberations, it is found that it is a question of National Security.\u201d The involvement of the High Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes is reduced to almost nothing. It only has to be told that the contracts are being entered into by the State but it is involved during and after completion of the deal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Attorney Andr\u00e9 Michel can\u2019t contain his ire in the face of what Jovenel Mo\u00efse is attempting to do. \u201cIn short,\u201d he asserts, \u201cthe decree of February 12, 2020 is a true State scandal. This decree is a pretext to dilapidate what is left of our meager resources. I call on the citizens to assume their responsibility.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As far as he\u2019s concerned, he has assumed his responsibility in this sordid affair. Here\u2019s how: \u201cCitizen Johnson Colin, with assistance of his lawyer, Attorney Andr\u00e9 Michel, will formally oppose the execution of the decree of February 12, 2020, before going on the attack with a presentation at the High Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In addition, he signs Andr\u00e9 Michel, Esq., Sunday, February 16, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>*D\u00e9put\u00e9 (Congressman) Jean- Robert Boss\u00e9 of the Aquin district in South Haiti tweets his disapproval of the president<\/strong>. Last Saturday, he <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4623 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/ho19fev2020jrbosse-1-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"134\" \/>tweeted \u201cWith the February 12 decree [the president] has practically sidelined the National Commission on Public Bidding and also the High Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes. Henceforth, the PHTK [ruling] power has no competitor in matter of corruption.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In these few words, the Congressman, no longer in office since January 12, when the man- date of the Lower House expired, has put his fingers on the reason for the decree. The PHTK or \u201cBald Headed\u201d administration of President Mo\u00efse is being unfettered in carrying out corruption on a grand scale.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yet, after his swearing-in on February 7, 2017, President Mo\u00efse\u2019s first official visit abroad was to New York, in September of that year, to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations. He made a grand statement about the problems that \u201cgangrene Haiti. They are corruption, corruption, corruption, corruption, corruption,\u201d repeated emphatically five times. Now, he\u2019s not only Mr. Corrupt, but he defends the \u201ccorrupters\u201d responsible for the more than $4 billion disappearance of the PetroCaribe Fund from proceeds of Venezuelan petroleum products sold on the Haitian market at preferential rates. The profits thereof were to be used for structural and social programs, which would have changed the face of Haiti. Jovenel Mo\u00efse must account for his internationally public promise of fighting corruption. In addition, his latest decree must be considered void and null.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>*A distribution of rice to the needy in Haiti\u2019s Central Plateau has turned into a major scandal, involving the Ministries of Interior and Territorial Communities as well as Justice<\/strong>. It started in Mirebalais, in the Department of the Center in the Highlands, adjacent to the Dominican Republic. On February 13, the Police arrested four individuals, including a woman, with a load of 229 bags of rice that were to be sold. On questioning, the Police found out that one of the individuals had a \u201cbadge\u201d identifying him as an employee involved in undertaking missions for the Ministry of Interior and Territorial Communities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Whereupon, the District Attorney of Mirebalais, Elion\u00e9 Sainfleur was called in by the Police, because it was no longer a local police matter, but one calling for the involvement of the Justice Department. Jean Lunick Revange, the journalist of the blog Juno7.ht, who reported the story, said Mr. Sainfleur contacted the Minister of Justice and Public Safety, in Port-au-Prince, Jean Roudy Aly, who is said to have been fully briefed by FAES. That\u2019s the acronym of the Fund for Economic and Social Assistance which has regional offices in six areas of the country, including one in Hinche, in the Central Department. No name of those arrested was given, indicating that they may have been in cahoots with some higher-ups in the administration.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-4624 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/ho19fev2020klausE-1-300x214.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"214\" \/>It should be noted that the name of FAES surfaced when its former general director, Klaus Ebervein, was found dead in a hospital room in Miami on July 11, 2017, at the height of the PetroCaribe scandal. It\u2019s been revealed that much of the PetroCaribe Fund had been funneled through FAES. More troubling yet, Caroline Estim\u00e9, the former secretary of Klaus Ebervein, was found dead, a year later, in a hotel room at another Miami hotel. Their mouths are forever sealed. They could have testified of what they knew about the involvement of FAES in the PetroCaribe scandal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Now, the burden is on the shoulder of Minister of Justice Aly. Since the initial press report about the the rice scandal at Mirebalais, a deafening silence has been observed in the matter. One would expect that Minister Aly is conducting a full investigation on the rice scandal, not of merely 229 bags (of 100 lbs, no doubt)which were part of a major shipment sent to the Central Highlands.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Probably, other such commercial improprieties are common with the produce provided to all the regional offices of FAES. It\u2019s too be expected that Jean Roody Aly will become the hero to have broken a mafia-like criminal operation which has hindered the fight on poverty to succeed. After all, the mandate of FAES is to bring about development in Haiti\u2019s mostly peasant regions, leading eventually in breaking the back of poverty in Haiti and usher in an era of prosperity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">People from everywhere, not only in Haiti, are watching the Minister of Justice! Perhaps this situation provides him an opportunity to clear his name in the anti-patriotic and criminal dossier of the armed mercenaries that entered Haiti surreptitiously and, when caught by Haitian police, were facilitated, allegedly by the minister, to leave Haiti in February of last year without appearing before a Haitian court! <strong>RAJ February 19, 2020<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Cet article est publi\u00e9 par l\u2019hebdomadaire Ha\u00efti-Observateur, \u00e9dition du 19 f\u00e9vrier 2020\u00a0<strong>VOL.L, No.7,\u00a0<\/strong>New York, et se trouve en\u00a0<strong>P. 1, 7<\/strong>\u00a0\u00e0 :\u00a0<a style=\"color: #000000;\" href=\"http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/H-O-19-february-2020-1.pdf\">http:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/H-O-19-february-2020-1.pdf<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HAPPENINGS! Systematically, the Dictatorship is evolving Following his dismissal, in a January 12 tweet, of 10 Senators still with a mandate of two more years, Haiti\u2019s President Jovenel Mo\u00efse\u2019s decree of February 12, is another full power grab, which will&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,25,43],"tags":[439,1495,1702,1809,2687,2768,2824],"class_list":["post-4642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglais","category-haiti","category-raj","tag-bosse","tag-haiti-observateur","tag-jean-robert","tag-klaus-erberwien","tag-raj","tag-rice-scandal","tag-rudy-ali"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/haiti-observateur.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}