Tag Archives: MARTELLY

Jul 31 2015

Ki Sa Ki Lakoz Dola Ameriken an Chè konsa nan Peyi a?

Dola

Jounen jodi a, goud la, ki se lajan peyi d Ayiti a, ap pèdi pye andedan peyi a. Daprè sa nou aprann de Bank Santral peyi d Ayiti a, si ou pa gen 56.50 goud nan men w, ou pa ka achte 1 dola Ameriken. Ki sa ki lakoz dola Ameriken an ap vann tèt nèg konsa?

An n gade dosye sa a daprè yon konsèp ekonomik “supply and “demand,” ke nou tout sa yo ki te gen chans pran kou ekonomi nan inivèsite konprann trè byen.

Lè pa gen ase nan yon pwodwi [supply] sou mache a, akoz de kantite moun ki dèyè achte pwodwi sa a [demand], pou w kapab dekouraje moun yo [demand la], ou monte pri a [pri a ka monte byen wo pou jistan ou jwenn “threshold” k ap bay “equilibrium” ant “supply” ak “demand” la sou mache a.

Alòs, sa k fè dola a chè a se paske pa gen ase dola k ap sikile nan ekonomi a.

Emann Joasil, kòman fè pa gen ase dola nan ekonomi an, ki sa ki ka lakoz sa, hen?

Bèl kesyon! Gen plizyè bagay ki ka lakoz pa gen ase dola k ap sikile nan ekonomi an. M pral bay ou kèk ladan yo:

1. lè w pa pwodwi pou w ekspòte pou lajan kapab antre nan ekonomi an, sa lakoz pa gen lajan ki pou satisfè “demand” la;

2. lè Dyaspora pa voye lajan akoz de sitiyasyon ekonomik difisil ke l ap viv la, vin pa gen ase lajan nan ekonomi an ki pou satisfè “demand” la [lè Dyaspora a gen yon tous ekonomik k ap deranje l, Ayiti limenm fè sa yo rele yon tibèkiloz ekonomik];

3. lè administrasyon Martelly a ap depanse san kontwòl nan yon dal lòbèy ki pa gen okenn potansyalite ekonomik, lajan pati kite ekonomi an ale lòtbò dlo [paske majorite bagay ke lajan an achte pou fè e òganize bagay sa yo se enpòte yo enpòte yo];

4. lè pa gen envestisè ki pou vin envesti nan ekonomi an akoz de enstabilite politik ke Martelly ak K-Plim kreye nan peyi a, vin pa gen lajan k ap brase nan ekonomi an ki pou pèmèt ke demand pou dola Ameriken an satisfè;

5. lè moun pa antre vin vizite peyi a –akoz de enstabilite politik ke SELEKSYON Martelly ak K-Plim pral lage nan peyi a –sa fè pa gen ase dola k ap brase nan ekonomi an ki pou satisfè “demand” la;

6. lè tout moun sere lajan yo pou yo pa envesti nan ekonomi an akoz de “uncertainty” ki kreye akoz dezòd ak lòbèy ki pral genyen nan peyi a akoz SELEKSYON Martelly ak K-Plim pral fè yo, sa a fè ke pa gen ase dola nan ekonomi an ki pou satisfè demand la.

Ki sa ki pou fèt pou korije sa? Anyen! Nou pa ta sipoze rive la. Sa a se twòkèt la sa… an nou swete ke nou pa janm wè chay la ki dèyè a.

Pa gen okenn solisyon a kou tèm ke w ta konte pran ki pa p vin pi anpire sitiyasyon an a la long. Alòs, kèlkeswa solisyon an, li sipoze long tèm.

Sa n ap viv la a, li pa yon bagay ki parèt bripsoukou non… se tout yon seri de aksyon e desizyon finansyè, ekonomik e politik iresponsab ki vin bay nou l. Alòs se pou n korije erè nou yo pou n ka arive mete ekonomi nou an kanpe sou pye l pou dola a vin ap sikile kòmsadwa pou ke lwa ekonomik “supply and demand” la vin regilarize e estabilize dola Ameriken an sou mache a.

Nov 27 2014

These Lavalas Anarchists Must Be Out Of Their Minds

Haiti-lavalas-300x210

These Lavalas leftists, anarchists, communists, extremists with anti-American sentiment in Haiti –like Turneb Delpe, Moise Jean-Charles, Edmonde Beauzile, Mirlande Manigat & Co –must be out of their minds if they think the international community would let them sabotage the progressive agenda of the Martelly administration so they could get to power in Haiti.

In a population of 10 million people, they can only manipulate a few thousands in Port-au-Prince –with money they had obtained through kidnapping and drug trafficking –and they wanna make believe that a majority is against the president. Don’t they know that majority had already expressed itself 3 years ago by electing Martelly president?

These folks had spent 20 years in power in Haiti and left behind for Martelly a devastated place you would not dare calling a country. For doing so would have been an insult to the person who had introduced the word [country] in the English lexicon. Today they are acting as though they had never been in power, and that they do not have a track record to judge them on. Their record is sitting right there in our recent memory, so there is no way we could be so amnesiac.

We will not let them take the country back to the dark era of kidnapping, gang-related crimes, dechoukaj, Pèlebren, kraze brize, etc… we must and will continue to move forward by quarantining and keeping them away from the National Palace by any means necessary.

Martelly will complete his term and will pass the gavel to his successor, who will come out of the presidential election he [Martelly] will have to organize. Democracy is all about continuity of the democratic process, and that is what we Haitian democrats believe in.

In a democracy, there is only one prescribed way to get to power, and that is through a democratic electoral process. These Lavalas anarchists refuse to play the democratic game by its rules because they know they cannot get to power in Haiti in a fair, honest, inclusive and transparent election –the majority of the people do not want anything to do with them, and they know it.

George W. Bush, for instance, was elected president twice in the United States. By the end of his second term, he had become very unpopular. In spite of his unpopularity, which had rendered him very vulnerable, the American people did not take the streets in protest every week to ask him to resign. They know better than that; they are a busy people who do not have time to waste. They had expressed their anger in the polls twice by electing and reelecting President Obama -in 2008 and 2012. That’s how things are supposed to be done in a democracy.

In this political conjuncture the country has found itself today, we have a choice to make: either we opt for a democratic Haiti, where the rule of law is highly valued, or we want to plunge the country in a state of anarchy and lawlessness with these Lavalas anarchists.

May 11 2014

Pa Ka Gen Demokrasi Ak Devlopman San Opozisyon Politik

Noumenm Tèt Kale, nou rekonèt ke gouvènman Martelly-Lamothe la pa gen nan men l solisyon a tout pwoblèm peyi a. Alòs, nou rekonèt fòk gen yon opozisyon ki solid nan demokrasi nou an.

Noumenm Tèt Kale, nou rekonèt fòk gen yon opozisyon ki djanm pou peyi a kapab vanse pou pi devan.

Noumenm Tèt Kale, nou rekonèt ke pa ka gen demokrasi ak devlopman san opozisyon.

Kesyon ke nou sipoze poze tèt nou se, “ki modèl opozisyon ke nou bezwen pou peyi nou an?”

Sa a se yon bèl kesyon, e m pral pran san m pou m byen reponn li. Nou bezwen yon opozisyon ki eklere, yon opozisyon modèn, yon opozisyon k ap kontribye nan devlopman peyi a, yon opozisyon k ap pwopoze fason ke yo panse ki pibon pou nou rezoud pwoblèm yo, yon opozisyon ki kwè nan antame bon jan deba politik pou nou jwenn fason ki pi fè sans pou nou abode pwoblèm ke sosyete a ap viv yo. Se modèl opozisyon sa a ke nou bezwen.

Nou fin ba w ki modèl opozisyon ke nou bezwen pou peyi a, kounyè a nou pral di w ki modèl opozisyon ke nou pa bezwen pou peyi a.

Nou pa bezwen yon opozisyon k ap kraze brize tout sa nou konstwi pou yo fè nou fè “back” pandan ke lemond ap vanse.

Nou pa bezwen yon opozisyon k ap fè dechoukay, k ap dekouraje envestisè Ayisyen tankou etranje pou yo vin envesti nan ekonomi nou an pou yo kreye travay bay pèp la travay [fòk nou konnen ke pa ka gen devlopman san travay, e pa ka gen travay nan fè dechoukay].

Nou pa bezwen yon opozisyon ki kwè nan rache manyòk, ki vle pran pouvwa a san li pa ale nan eleksyon [fòk nou konnen ke enstabilite politik se yon kansè manjezon sa ye pou devlopman yon peyi].

Nou pa vle yon opozisyon k ap bloke peyi a, k ap lage gravwa nan manje a [pou tout 10 milyon Ayisyen yo pa jwenn li pou yo manje] jis paske pèp la voye jete altenativ rache manyòk yo a.

Nou pa vle yon opozisyon k ap divize nasyon an sou yon baz de koulè po -k ap pale de ti wouj kont ti nwa, alòske lè lidè opozisyon an bezwen marye, se fanm ti wouj yo pran pou yo marye [sa a rele demagojikopopilis].

Nou pa vle yon opozisyon politikodemagojik, k ap divize nou sou baz sosyoekonomik [lidè opozisyon an ap pale de nèg anwo kont nèg anba, sepandan se anwo yo monte pou yo bati chato pou yo rete].

Nou se yon sèl pèp… se pou nou mete tèt nou ansanm, andepi de diferans politik e ideyolojik nou, pou nou fè peyi nou an mache. Li lè li tan pou noumenm Ayisyen nou ouvè je nou pou nou ka wè ki kote enterè nou ye. Enterè nou pa nan fè demagoji politik, zigzani ak chirepit; li nan chita tèt frèt pou n ap poze pwoblèm yo, pou nou tout [pouvwa a ansanm ak opozisyon an] ap brase lide nan dyalog ak bon jan deba san demagoji, ki reyèl, onèt e serye pou nou kapab rezoud yo. E lè nou rezoud yo, se peyi a nou fè byen, se pèp la nou fè byen.

Dec 9 2013

The Way To Beat Lavalas In The Next Elections

elections-haiti

Lavalas knows very well that “rache manyòk” is not feasible, so their mobilization on the streets is nothing but a part of their campaign strategy to imposingly win the next elections.

They were very dormant for the past two years, so they had got to find a way to wake up their troops and get them on their feet once and for all.

The Tèt Kale camp needs to take this wave of sporadic protests very seriously. They must not play the game of their opponent. Otherwise, they will know an embarrassing defeat.

The Tèt Kale Political Action Committees (PACs) must not let their camp lose the political edge to the Lavalas sector -if they want to outperform them (the Lavalas sector) in the next elections. Be mindful of the fact that the main purpose behind all these protests is to win the political edge.

By definition, a Political Action Committee (PAC) is a type of organization that gathers campaign money from members and donates those funds for the purpose of influencing an election. It may engage in unlimited political spending independently of the campaign to campaign for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation.

How to prevent Lavalas?

Effective political campaigns cannot be possibly run without money. So you need money to effectively campaign against your opponents. The game has long changed.

If the Tèt Kale PACs want to capitalize on the next elections, among many things they need to do, they need to wage an aggressive and brutal media war against Lavalas.

The Tèt Kale PACs, with small 30- to 60-second political spots (audio and video), need to hit the mainstream radio and TV stations in Haiti and the Diaspora and all the social networking sites. The content of these spots is what will determine their effectiveness. So expert advice is highly warranted to put these spots together.

The purpose of these spots is to highlight the reasons (based on historical data) as to why Lavalas is bad for the country in this era of modernization and social and economic development and why their candidates represent what the country needs to keep moving forward.

Also, the Tèt Kale sector needs to select winnable candidates with a clean record to represent them in these elections. That means a vetting committee needs to be instituted to thoroughly examine the records of these potential candidates before they are selected.

Lavalas can be beaten easily. It will depend on the game plan of the Tèt Kale sector. As I often say, when the playing field is leveled for all the players, the team with the best strategy is the one poised to win the contest.

Jul 30 2012

Carnival of Flowers: An Economic, Not Political Factor

I have zero problem with the Carnival of Flowers currently going on in Port-au-Prince. In fact, I support it 100%. I’m not a politician, so I leave the politics surrounding the necessity of holding it to those who want to make it a political matter.

In my opinion, we need to push this event even harder. So I propose that we hold next year a week long of festivities, rather. That means, in a Summer Break spirit, along with the Carnival of Flowers, let’s hold a series of events to be ended with a big time international music festival (possibly on one of our beautiful beaches). And the promotion for this package of events for next year needs to start right away, right after this one.

These represent opportunities for the private sector to make money. The government should not have to spend a dime to organize them -other than providing security/logistical support to the private sector. That should be the extent of the government’s involvement.

These types of festivities could be organized on a larger scale and promoted on the global stage as our traditional cultural landmarks to encourage people all over the world to come and experience them.

Of course, this first time around is not going to be as successful as expected. But for the subsequent times to be, there has got to be this first time, which many are very critical and hostile to.

If many tend to look at this Carnival of Flowers as a waste, I see it as a business investment with great economic potentials. The product seems to look good to my standard; like any business investment, its success will depend on how hard and smart we are willing to work in order to market it around the world to attract potential buyers (the national and foreign tourists).

Yes, the country is facing one of the worst economic moments in its history, but nothing is wrong with holding the Carnival of Flowers to try to attract potential tourists; we only need to change our approach to organizing and marketing it. So let’s put politics aside and stop wasting our time criticizing the administration for something our shortsightedness has not allowed us to grasp.

Mar 4 2012

Citizenship: Martelly and Obama -Two Distinct Cases

Let me take a minute to address these people trying to make the silly and ridiculous comparison between the citizenship case of President Obama and that of President Martelly.

Some argue that like Obama did show his birth certificate when Donald Trump and others were raising doubts about his American citizenship, Martelly should give his passport to the Senate commission charged to investigate on the allegation of Senator Moise Jean Charles holding charges that Martelly is not Haitian so the country could move on.

Let me make it clear to these folks that those are two different cases in reality and political conjuncture. They are different in that, unlike the Martelly case, the allegation held against Obama did not come from a member of one of the country’s institutions; it came from a citizenship. That’s why even certain members of Congress in Trump’s party, the Republican Party, were calling him out on this.

In the Martelly case, however, you have a state senator making the allegation that Martelly is not Haitian. Now a Senate commission, from one of the country’s institutions I must add, is investigating the case. What makes this case appalling is not the fact that the citizenship of President Martelly is being questioned, but rather who is questioning it. This is not a simple citizen like Donald Trump questioning the president’s citizenship; it is a state senator.

In any country around the globe, a senator holds certain power and authority a normal and ordinary citizen does not. He or she can access any information in any institution at any given time to come to the bottom of anything he or she has doubts on.

So in light of that, before Moise Jean Charles, a senator I must add, came out to make such a serious allegation against President Martelly, he should have taken his time to collect all the pertinent information to build his case and corroborate his stance. He only submitted two bogus passport numbers, one of which, the American passport number, per Ambassador Merten, has absolutely nothing to do with the president. That alone should have been grounds for rejection of the case for insufficiency of evidence. No, they still want to play politics with this baseless and unfounded issue while millions are unemployed and living in abject poverty.

Now that they realize they are making a fool of themselves because the pieces of evidence they so-called had to substantiate the case against President Martelly have been refuted, they are pressing the president to come out with his passport to rescue them from the embarrassment. Why should he? I say let them destroy themselves. As Napoleon Bonaparte eloquently stated, “Never interfere with an enemy while he’s in the process of destroying himself.” So he must NOT submit his passport; it will stay in his pocket as he stated.

In the President Obama case, he did release his birth certificate because he was facing reelection pressures. That was the only way for him to put the nonsense behind him. Had he not done so, the issue would have not been put to rest, which could have caused him his reelection. So for the sake of politics, he was obliged to relinquish this very personal information. He did it for politics, not because he wanted to be a good-hearted and patriotic citizen.

It is imperative that we do not get these two cases mixed up. They are diametrically different, though they may have some points of similitude. Donald Trump is a simple citizen; Moise Jean Charles is a senator. The Tea Party backing Trump on his charge is a political entity within the Republican Party; the commission charged to investigate on President Martelly’s foreign nationality is an entity from within the country’s Senate, an institution of the state.

The fact that these guys in the Senate, after about three months of futile investigation, have yet to come forth with a conclusion of their investigation has proven their incapacity and the weakness of our institutions. If this case was investigated in the United States, I do not think they would have relied on President Obama’s goodwill to submit his travel papers to conclude whether or not he is a US citizen. No wonder the world is laughing at us as though we are a bunch of cave people living in this 21st century.

Aug 25 2011

BELLERIVE: POLITICAL SUICIDE FOR MARTELLY

Jean Max Bellerive, Haitian Prime Minister

The political landscape in the Haitian legislature, in terms of power distribution and concentration, is looking dull on President Martelly’s side of the spectrum. With no political weight in the Parliament to begin with, it appears very impossible for him to get his choice for Prime Minister ratified -unless he accepts to compromise to pull a majority in the Parliament.

So like President Obama did after he lost the House of Representatives to the Republicans last November, President Martelly must compromise. That’s the political reality of the moment. Now that we know he must compromise, the issue is how he should compromise.

It has been noise in many political circles on the ground in Haiti that President Martelly may be opting for Bellerive to stay as Prime Minister. I strongly oppose to such idea. I hope it is nothing but a rumor, for it will not play well politically for the president.

Keeping Bellerive in his function as Prime Minister is political suicide for Martelly. The president should remember that he campaigned and got elected on the promise to break ties with the corruptive and failed Preval-Bellerive administration.

There is a reason why the people did not elect Preval’s protégé –Jude Celestin. The reason is simple: they did not want a continuity of the failure of the Preval-Bellerive administration. Let us not fool ourselves! Bellerive and Preval are the two sides of the same coin.

The people have already rejected Bellerive and his acolytes, why recycling them? Imagine what would have happened to Obama if the US had the same system of government as Haiti and he had decided to choose Dick Cheney as his Prime Minister. It would have been political suicide for him, would it have not?

President Martelly, as politically weak as he is now, needs to be very careful to not lose his political base –his only political strength. His political base is all that he has to live and die for. Losing that will render him very vulnerable to sustain the political storms he will have to endure during his term in office. So I am urging him to be very careful.

We are experiencing Bellerive fatigue; therefore, President Martelly should look the other way.

It is good for the sake of political psychology to have a fresh face in the Prime Minister position, explaining the reason why the Bellerive option has got to be off the table. Such will play in the president’s political best interest in terms of bragging points.

Recycling Bellerive would be like a political capitulation for the president, who had made it clear many times that Bellerive is a bad card -the continuity of the failure of the previous administration. For him to turn around and recycle Bellerive, that will be very bad for him politically speaking. So he must not go with that “bouyon rechofe.”

If I were to advise him, I would honestly convince him to go with Jean Henry Ceant, the former presidential candidate, for the Prime Minister position -just for the sake of compromise.

The question you may be asking is, why Jean Henry Ceant?

Politically speaking, Ceant, whom many see as a disguised Lavalas sympathizer, seems to be a guy who could inspire confidence and trust on both sides of the political fence. He is what you would call a political centrist with a high degree of political commonsense and cleverness. Do you sense what that means? It means that his choice could appeal to a strong majority in the Parliament, which is eminently necessary for him to be ratified.

Furthermore, since he was a presidential candidate in the last contest, I do not think there could be issues with his record -proof of nationality, proof of residency, criminal background, tax document, etc… as required by the Constitution. Those should have already been cleared by the officers of the Provisory Electoral Council (PEC).

I would definitely urge the president to push the Ceant card hard to pass the congressional gridlock. Ceant seems to be a consensus builder. If/when ratified, he will have the mandate to join head with the president to build a hybrid government to represent all the sectors of the nation’s political life in an effort to implement the president’s vision for the country.

This hybrid government will have a clear agenda to execute in a realistic time frame. It will have to:

1. work along with the Interim Commission for the Reconstruction of Haiti (ICRH) to take care of the housing projects for the victims of the earthquake;

2. bring the rampant insecurity under control;

3. revamp our economy by encouraging and/or attracting private investments, developing our sector of tourism, promoting our national production, reforming our agriculture, etc…

Finally, the political conjuncture in Haiti is called for compromise to solve the political stalemate (between the executive and the legislative) the country has been in since the inauguration of President Martelly, who does not have any political leverage do get anything done in the Parliament. President Martelly must compromise, but not compromise at any cost, making the idea of recycling Bellerive unacceptable and unpalatable. So the choice of a centrist in the caliber of former presidential candidate Jean Henry Ceant for the Prime Minister job -to build a consensus and inspire trust and confidence on both sides of the political spectrum -makes plenty of political sense. In all earnest, we are Bellerive fatigued. NO MORE BELLERIVE!!!

Aug 4 2011

THE ERA OF LAVALAS IS OVER

Only in Haiti could a guy like MOISE JEAN-CHARLES, the Senator from the Northern District of the country, someone who can barely read and write his name, find himself in a position where he could humiliate a highly educated and qualified man (with a doctorate degree in law and years of leadership experience) in the caliber of BERNARD H. GOUSSE, who was chosen by PRESIDENT MARTELLY to lead the country’s government. Unfortunately, he got voted down in the Senate by the 16 LAVALAS senators.

Thanks to ARISTIDE and PREVAL, the fathers of the LAVALAS philosophy, such a character could be in the Senate -the respectable chamber of the wises -to legislate in a country as ill and desperate as Haiti, where values such as integrity, honesty, professionalism and savoir-faire should be praised and honored. That’s what “change” as envisioned and promoted by LAVALAS means.

We Haitians would be really dumb and stupid to bring these LAVALAS guys back in power again, seriously. In all earnest, we should be having billboards all over the country that read in bold and capital letters “THE ERA OF LAVALAS IS OVER!”

After 25 years, no one can keep blaming DUVALIER for the quagmire LAVALAS -with Aristide and Preval -has plunged the country in. We had voted these guys in power with hopes they would come and do better than DUVALIER; unfortunately, they failed the country miserably. They brought us institutionalized corruption, organized crimes (chimères, kidnapping, rape, etc…) and lawlessness. That was, indeed, an avalanche the country had experienced; it left behind a chaotic state, and it will take us decades to bring it back to its state of normalcy.

Obviously, after the collapse of the DUVALIER regime, we, as a people, have proven our incapacity to do better. That’s why for the past 20 years, we had 4 terms of LAVALAS. In other words, we had voted in power nothing but these guys to literally emulate the system of corruption and organized and systematic violence they had been criticizing the Duvalierists for. I guess we could not do any better.

LAVALAS -the political movement said embedded in the philosophy of Justice, Transparency and Participation, which most of us stood for and strongly supported in 1990 (the year that witnessed the emergence of ARISTIDE to power in Haiti), sadly, had been substituted with ignorance, stupidity and mediocrity.

This time, my fellow Haitians, let us challenge ourselves by showing to the international community watching us that we can do better by yelling loud and clear at the top of our lungs “THE ERA OF LAVALAS IS OVER!”

We will not and must not forget. So for the record, here are the names of the 16 LAVALAS senators who rejected in the Senate the choice of BERNARD H. GOUSSE for prime minister:

01- Exius Piierre francky (South)
02- Sainvil Francois Lucas (Northwest)
03- Privert Jocelerme (Nippes)
04- Lebon Fritz Carlos (South)
05- Lambert Joseph (Southeast)
06- Lambert Wenceslass (Southeast)
07- John Joseph Joel (West)
08- Bastien Kelly C (North)
09- Cassy Nenel (Nippes)
10- Pierre Louis Derex Lucien (Northeast)
11- Bien Aime Jean Baptiste (Northeast)
12- Moise Jean Charles (North)
13- Wesner Polycarpe (North)
14- Buissereth Yvon (South)
15- Desras Simon Dieuseul (Central)
16- Beauplan Evalliere (Northwest)

For the record, the following is the integral text of GOUSSE’s reaction after he lost the bet of becoming the country’s Prime Minister:

PROMESSES D’AVENIR

Haïti: Chers Amis Compatriotes,

Le Sénat a pris une décision qui met malheureusement fin au cheminement qui devait me permettre de me mettre au service de mon pays. Malheureusement … mais momentanément.

Ma désignation a soulevé un débat public salutaire où les forces saines de la population se sont exprimées en faveur du bien, de la vie, de l’éducation, contre le mal absolu incarné dans une barbarie s’étant abattue éhontément sur les bébés, les femmes âgées, les petites marchandes et les ouvriers.

Je remercie Monsieur le Président de la République, Michel J. Martelly, d’avoir désiré m’associer à l’oeuvre de son mandat populaire.

Je remercie les parents et amis qui n’ont jamais fléchi dans leur support. Je remercie surtout les anonymes rencontrés dans les rues, sur les places, qui, discrètement mais chaleureusement, m’ont encouragé dans un combat qui était devenu le leur.

Je remercie aussi mes compatriotes sénateurs du groupe des 16 pour la publicité faite autour de mon nom avec un zèle quotidien dont n’aurait pu faire preuve la meilleure agence de publicité. J’ai pu grâce à eux me prouver à moi-même et démontrer à mes compatriotes mon endurance à garder le font haut et la tête altière, le regard porté vers un destin collectif de grandeur, indifférent aux crachats et aux vulgaires piaillements. Je ne manquerai donc pas de leur faire parvenir leurs honoraires s’ils me soumettent une facture pour un travail décidément bien fait.

Le débat parlementaire du 2 août 2011 a permis que des sénateurs désintéressés défendissent le droit et les valeurs morales avec une opiniâtreté, un panache et une éloquence pour lesquels je les félicite. Ils n’ont pas été vaincus et ont, j’espère, suscité des vocations de parlementaires valeureux, nourris de courage et de science. La défaite fut celle, éphémère, du droit, et celle, peut-être définitive, de l’honneur du Sénat, alors que languissent sous les tentes et dans les masures, dans les écoles comme dans les conseils d’administration, dans une patience de plus en plus ténue, les espoirs déçus d’une Haïti studieuse, travailleuse et reconstruite.

Le combat dans lequel je suis engagé dépasse désormais ma personne ; je ne peux l’abandonner. L’horizon de ce combat ne s’arrête pas à la question de premier ministre. Le temps est venu pour que la dignité, le travail honnête et l’éducation soient les valeurs proposées en exemple et récompensées, pour que soient vaincues l’immoralité, la corruption, les richesses spontanées et l’arrogante ignorance.

La vie publique bien conçue, en dépit de ses vicissitudes, mérite que l’on s’y consacre quand la guident l’accès généralisé aux services sociaux de base, la modernisation de l’Etat, la libération des énergies créatrices et surtout le regain de la dignité nationale.

Je resterai donc parmi vous
Au revoir

GPR, Gousse Pi Rèd.

Apr 19 2011

RECONCILIATION: MICKY & TITID SHOULD MEET

President-elect Martelly

I believe there have been sentiments of discord and strife between President-elect Martelly and former President Aristide. This is now the time for a cease fire to be called between the two men to reconcile the nation with itself. I am glad President-elect Martelly is taking the lead on the reconciliation mantra.

In an interview to La Press, published yesterday, Monday, April 18, 2011, President-elect Martelly, talking on the fate of the two former presidents -Jean Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and Jean Bertrand Aristide –said in French:

I would simply said that we will be able to eventually look at amnesty only if those who had been hurt in the past understand the necessity for the nation to reconcile with itself. Before we could get to that, we need to try to place ourselves in the victims’ shoes to understand them and respect their sentiments.

So we are not rushing into taking any decisions, though public opinion wants that I stand on the side of amnesty and clemency, a way to focus on the future, not the past. But we must always keep the past in our minds so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

I think President-elect Martelly, in his effort to bring the country together, needs to be the bigger person to hand to the former president an olive branch; he needs to make peace with him.

Former President Aristide

Former President Aristide is a resourceful person whom President-elect Martelly could use in many capacities to help rebuild the country. We find strength only in unity, not in division and bickering.

The former priest’s rhetoric may have been too inflammatory during his tenure as president, but he could be a great asset to be put to good use if he is really honest about his ambition to serve the people and help move the country forward.

If his rhetoric and policies were being viewed as too far to the left, it was because he was in a position for whatever he said and did to matter much. He is not in that position anymore, President-elect Martelly is. In other words, Martelly is the coach to call the play now, not Aristide.

President-elect Martelly must not let these vultures, those who have never acted in the best interest of Haiti, dictate him who amongst us he should befriend and who he should ostracize. He is now the president of every single Haitian; therefore, he must act in such manner.

Now that he is elected president, in his post-election consultations, he should ask to meet with all the former presidents currently living in Haiti, including former President Aristide. That should take place prior to his inauguration ceremony, which all of them will be invited to attend.

It would be preposterous to think that a man in the caliber of Aristide could be pushed to the side. He can still be useful to Haiti so long as he is willing to play by the rules.

While I am for reconciliation between the two men, only for the sake of bringing all the sons and daughters of Haiti together to do what needs to get done, I am also urging President-elect Martelly to not be naive and let Aristide loose; he needs to be kept on check. I am sure Mr. Martelly will keep him in a tight and short leash. So I am not going to even worry about him acting up.

Mar 10 2011

MY IMPRESSION OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Manigat and Martelly, Haitian presidential candidate

I spent over one hour or two watching this Haitian presidential debate on www.Haitinetradio.com, having put on stage the two candidates -Martelly and Manigat –who will be on the ballot on March 20. I am going to try to give you my impression of it.

I am not sure what the organizers were trying to achieve with the event and whether or not they reached the objective, but to tell you the truth, it was a waste of time. To me, that was not a political debate; it was more of an exhibition of knowledge –I know more than you do in this field and all this nonsense.  

I think, for a first debate, Martelly did well. He just needs to work on his posturing a little, which is something that can come with practice. This is our first experience with political debates in our political culture, so this is new to almost all of these politicians.

Martelly did exactly what he came out to do, and that was to keep his votes. He did not win nor lose any as a result of his performance, which I think was a little too abrasive.  

We knew from the start that he was not going to be more rhetorical than Manigat, a university professor. That is undisputable. However, one thing he did better than his opponent was that he answered the questions in a way to allow him to have a better connectivity with the people.

Throughout the debate, Martelly inspired confidence in his answers, which I think was his major highlight. I like his toughness; I would feel safer with him driving me than I would with Manigat.

I don’t know what Manigat’s strategy was, but it was not to win votes. She came to show off her intellectual superiority; I don’t think that’s what the people wanted to see from her since they already knew about her intellect.

She failed short to connect with the people. She was boring, and her answers were too rhetorical for the average Haitian Joe in Cite Soleil and across the country to even come close to comprehend. So she missed the goal big time.

At some point in the debate, I had the impression she was talking to her university students, not to the people whose votes she desperately needs. I would hire her over Martelly to be my professor, but not my president.

Where Haiti is right now, we need a tough guy figure or a no-nonsense type of guy to be on the wheel driving the people. We don’t need another weak head like Preval -with no real power to get the country back on track and restore the authority of the state.

We must not make the mistake of seeing these political debates through the perspective of American politics. Staging political debates is a new concept to all of us, including these politicians. So let’s not be too demanding.

Both candidates did fine, but Martelly resonated better with the people. He did what he came out to achieve. Manigat appeared more like a teacher in a lecture hall than a politician trying to win the hearts of the voters, which was Al Gore’s problem in 2000 and Kerry’s in 2004, explaining the reason why Bush won over the two of them.

Overall, the debate was a waste of time. In a sense, it was positive in that it will show the two candidates what they need to work on for next time. Martelly just needs to work on his temper and protocol big time; Manigat needs to work on her ability to communicate in a language the people in the street can relate to. If I were to choose a winner, it would be Martelly for the simple fact that he achieved what he came out to do.