SENATE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES THE BUDGET

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001842 SIPDIS 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: N/A TAGS: PGOV HA SUBJECT: SENATE PRESIDENT DISCUSSES THE BUDGET ¶1. (U) Senate president Joseph Lambert (Lespwa) stated on September 25 to poloff that he was pleased with the bicameral commissions, recommendations on the 2006-2007 national budget. According to Lambert, the bicameral commission completed its analysis of the budget late on Sunday and would present the budget to both houses separately this week. He did not anticipate difficulty in passing the budget. The bicameral commission had already overcome &quite a bit of resistance.8 However, he cautioned that deputies and senators who were not active in the budget analysis may slow the process. ¶2. (U) The bicameral commission has proposed that 977,000,000 Haitian gourdes (approximately USD 25,710,526) be reallocated to address some of the budgetary concerns that the parliamentarians raised. In particular, money was set aside for a feasibility study on the implementation of a public security force. Lambert agreed that an army was authorized by the constitution; however, he anticipated an amendment in 2007 that would legally abolish it. Lambert states that the executive wants a gendarmerie in order to address national security concerns while some parliamentarians want an army. Thus, the parliamentarians want specialists to weigh in on the issue and make a recommendation through a feasibility study. He recognized that it was important to follow the &spirit of the constitution, but not necessarily the letter of the law because there are different circumstances.8 While an exact amount had not been projected, he thought that 1,800,000 Haitian gourdes (approximately USD 47,368) would be the likely amount allocated to the study. ¶3. (U) Other important proposed initiatives include political party funding as well as parliamentary strengthening. Lambert thinks that &Haiti does not have a long history of strong political parties. There are many political parties and most come and go. In order to keep them viable and influential,8 the government should dedicate money to their strengthening. Likewise, the parliamentarians have proposed to spend approximately 587,000 Haitian gourdes (USD 15,447) for the Chamber and 365,000 Haitian gourdes (USD 9,605) in the Senate to strengthen the commissions as well as create district offices. According to Lambert, the funding would be used for technical experts helping the commissions and constituent awareness in the districts. TIGHE