HAITI: INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN CHAMBER OF

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 001466 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/CAR S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2011 TAGS: PGOV KDEM PINR HA SUBJECT: HAITI: INEFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES REF: PAUP 1425 Classified By: Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reason 1.4(b). ¶1. (U) Steven Benoit, L'Espwa deputy from Port-au-Prince, told poloff on July 27 that the Chamber of Deputies had not yet held a session that focused on its legislative agenda since opening the legislative season. During parliament's opening weeks, at least 70 deputies showed up for the thrice-weekly 10:00 a.m. meeting. Since then, however, the executive board, led by chamber president Eric-Pierre Jean Jacques is consistently late and typically convokes meetings after lunch. Deputies then spend the remaining time &arguing over administrative matters.8 Benoit said that attendance at these sessions has dropped to below 50 members and worries this number will fall below a quorum, currently 44 members. Benoit summarized that many of the deputies started with great energy but have been demoralized by the executive board's lack of leadership. ¶2. (C) While the chamber had formed committees and elected presidents, very few of them met on a regular basis. The 22 Committee presidents hold weekly meetings to try and prioritize legislative issues, he stated, but to little effect. While Benoit had hoped that the chamber might move to replace Jean Jacques and his team before the next scheduled leadership elections on January 12, he dismissed that possibility in a subsequent conversation. He predicted that the leadership would change completely after next January's elections. Jean Jacques, he said, was a "nice man, but a failure as a leader. He (Jean Jacques) admits he is no politician -- we need a politician." Benoit claims that he and 20-25 other deputies "who want to work" aim to take over the leadership in January. Party affiliation within this group varied. Bio Info: -------------- ¶3. (C) Benoit represents the affluent district of Petionville in Port-au-Prince and is the brother of President Preval's second ex-wife, Geri Benoit. He does not appear to be personally close to Preval and, with no previous political experience, was not well-known prior to his candidacy. He is outspoken, self-assured, and ambitious. Per reftel, he took the lead in criticizing MINUSTAH's performance in response to the latest increase in violence and led the call for a parliamentary boycott of UNSYG Kofi Annan, a stance that raised his profile and resonated with the majority of the populace. He is president of the tourism committee and is a member of the foreign affairs, security, and anti-corruption committees. Benoit claims that the anti-corruption committee formed at his initiative. Though he cannot hold two committee chairs, he claims "that committee is mine. I'm going to be the anti-corruption deputy." He reported that committee members were currently working to remove phantom employees from the payroll of the ministry of foreign affairs. ¶4. (C) Bio continued. Benoit spent 10 years in "Manhattan's Dominican neighborhood," where he was a student of political science and a taxi cab driver who spent &a lot of time dancing in New York's clubs.8 Benoit later spent five years in the U.S. Air Force, stationed in Texas and Florida and rising to sergeant. He returned to Haiti in 1993, where he studied (but did not finish) law. He has worked for the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of culture. Benoit, until recently, owned a nightclub in Petionville. He is 41 years-old and unmarried. He has a three-year old daughter who lives in New York and states that he and the mother's child have a strained relationship. He speaks English and Spanish. SANDERSON