In an article that appeared in Bloomberg news Monday, the US President and his Canadian
counterpart are expected to meet to discuss whether Canada or a third country is ready to lead a
mission to address the humanitarian and security crisis that has crippled Haiti in recent years.
While the US is said to be keen on setting up an aid mission but reluctant to commit troops on
the ground or lead the mission for fear of evoking dark memories of their past interventions in
the country. Speaking to reporters at the North American leaders’ summit in Mexico, U.S.
National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, stated that a meeting between the two leaders will take
place on Tuesday where Haiti will be on the agenda. Mr. Sullivan declined to confirm that
Canada will be asked to lead the mission. Both the US and Canada have already sent security
equipment to help the national police (PNH) quell the violence that has become increasingly
deadly, especially in the aftermath of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. The
two countries, however, failed to agree on which nation should lead an aid mission or on the
modalities of such an operation. But in December, Canada sent its ambassador to the United
Nations to Haiti for a three-day fact-finding mission and to assess the possibility of an
international mission and the role that Ottawa could play. The US continues to downplay the
likelihood that American troops will be part of any aid program, fearing to repeat the experience
of the 1994 US-led Operation Uphold Democracy and the subsequent UN mission that failed to
bring long-term stability to the country. According to Mr. Sullivan, the US has had multiple
experiences with military operations in Haiti, and a solution that does not involve a major
American military operation in Haiti is certainly the place they (the US) are looking for to try to
produce a positive result.
In other news, Monday January 9th marked a special milestone in the history of the country as it
marked the date on which there’s not a single elected official in the country, from the national to
the municipal levels. It also marked the date when the terms for the remaining third of the
senators who stayed after the departure of two thirds of all the senators expired. There has not
been a favorable condition under which free elections could have been held in the recent past to
elect officers to govern, and this current expiration of the term in office of the third of the
remaining senators serves as a worrying moment in the administration of the nation, especially in
the face of the multidimensional crises that the country is facing. In spite of all these problems,
the country’s leaders are unable to agree on a way forward. Most view the most recent accord,
known as the December 21st accord, signed between Prime Minister Ariel Henry, various
political parties and civil society groups as insufficient, non-inclusive and non-consensual. It is
also seen as demagogic and partisan by others. In a recent tweet, US Assistant Secretary of State
for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols said he encourages a broader consensus around
the proposed December 21, 2022, political accord and hopes to see “greater flexibility, among
leaders from all sectors, so that the country can advance reform and democracy and improve
security.
In other news, reports show that the Customs and Excise agency, Direction générale des impôts
(DGI) has reported revenues in the 21/22 fiscal year that exceeded forecasts by more than a
billion gourdes. The agency collected more than one billion gourdes in additional tax revenue
despite the socio-political climate that hovered over much of the country in the past year. The
revenue of the DGI amounted to 62.3 billion gourdes compared to the 61 billion gourdes planned
for. According to Huguens Lubin, Director of Communications for DGI, the positive increase of
over a billion gourdes above the forecasted amount is better than the forecast for the previous
fiscal year when they budgeted for 59 billion gourdes. While noting that large taxpayers are
responsible for 60 to 70% of the tax revenues collected, he praised the civic mindedness of
ordinary taxpayers who, despite the hostilities of the socio-political environment have
maintained their civic duty to fulfill their tax obligations. Also, there are the tax measures
included in the 2021-2022 budget which aimed to generate revenue by modifying the tariffs of
certain duties, taxes, and levies. And finally, there are administrative measures taken at the DGI
to strengthen internal control at the level of the chain of tax operations; strengthen corporate tax
control. Measures have also been taken to personalize and simplify collection procedures
through stricter application. With better management by segmentation of the categories of
taxpayers which facilitated better management of the tax file of taxpayers at the level of the 150
collection points of the DGI located throughout the country, and also by segmenting and
managing large taxpayers, medium taxpayers, and exempt organizations and companies.
Finally, the Biden administration has created a new program that offers 30,000 humanitarian
permits each month to people in Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti to allow them to legally enter the US
for up to two years on a case-by-case basis, as long as they’re able to find someone in the US
willing to sponsor them. This announcement created a rush of people going to the immigration
office in Lalue and the offices of the DGI to complete formalities to complete their passport
application in hopes of taking advantage of this opportunity. Security officers at the Immigration
and Emigration Service in Lalue were unable to manage the hundreds of people present on the
two sidewalks of the two lanes of traffic who jostled in front of the institution. The Police had to
be called in to intervene to maintain restore order.
This is how the process works: a sponsor in the US must complete Form I-134A online and
submit the requested documents to verify that they have the necessary financial resources. If the
sponsor’s application is approved, you will receive an email from USCIS to create an online
account and other instructions. Later, you will receive instructions for downloading the CBP One
app. You will need to provide personal information and a photo and ensure that you have
received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and other necessary vaccines. If the vaccine
the Haitian applicant received is not licensed in the United States, you must ensure that upon
arrival in the United States, you will receive at least one dose of a vaccine approved by the Food
and Drug Administration. After verification of the information and approval of the request, the
Haitian beneficiary will receive a notification inviting him or her to verify their account online.
They will then receive a “pre-authorization to travel to the United States” valid for 90 days. This
authorization is not a visa or parole. It only allows you to arrive at an airport in the United States.
You must pay the airfare and travel costs to the final destination. This program is not valid at the
US-Mexico border, because no land border crossing is included. After arriving in the United
States, the beneficiary must attest to having undergone a medical screening for tuberculosis,
including an interferon gamma release test (IGRA), within 90 days. Everything will be done
online so there will be no need to go to the US embassy in Port-au-Prince.
Dela Harlley