©️New York Times
The Haitian government plans to entrust a private company with the management of security and the collection of taxes at the border with the Dominican Republic, with the aim of better controlling this strategic crossing point, often used for the entry of illegal weapons. There is a shared response to this project.
A senior Haitian official confirmed in Miami Herald that discussions are underway to restructure customs and strengthen the PoliFRONT, the specialized unit of the border police. However, he denied the signing of a contract with Erik Prince, which contradicted an article by Reuters.
According to Reuters, Erik Prince's security company, Vectus Global, is said to have signed a 10-year agreement to implement a tax system at the border to drain gang revenues. One government source states that it did not see the name of Vectus Global, but another confirms that several companies, including Prince, are competing for this contract.
Vectus Global claims to have a one-year program to help Haiti fight gangs, as well as a long-term advisory mandate to improve tax collection capabilities. The company, which specializes in security advice, also states that it supports a working group of the Prime Minister's office dedicated to the fight against armed groups.
But the project is strongly criticized. Some see it as a new form of neocolonialism or an increased economic dependency. The lawyer and former presidential candidate Samuel Madistin denounces an initiative « scandalous » led by a provisional government which he considered corrupt and illegitimate. According to him, he did not have the authority or legitimacy to engage the country in a ten-year contract with a foreign company, while he did not strengthen the capabilities of the army or the national police.
Moreover, neither Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé nor the current leaders of the Transitional Presidential Council confirm the existence of an agreement with Vectus Global. The former President of the Council, Fritz Alphonse Jean, claimed that he had never been informed of such a project, while his successor, Laurent Saint-Cyr, declared that he had « no knowledge » a signed contract, reports Miami Herald.
Finally, these revelations revive the debate about the growing influence of the private sector in the governance of the country, with several business figures now occupying key positions in the executive.
W.E.
