HAITI MONTHLY: NOVEMBER, 2008

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001652 SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX, WHA/CAR STATE FOR DRL, INR/IAA, EEB FOR MARGUERITE SIEMER SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR STATE PASS TREASURY FOR ERIN NEPHEW WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/30/2018 TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD HA SUBJECT: HAITI MONTHLY: NOVEMBER, 2008 Classified By: Ambasssador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: This is a monthly report on various topics of interest which do not merit a full reporting cable. End summary. POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS -------------- ¶2. (C) SENATE TO CONVOKE PRIME MINISTER DECEMBER 2. Amid growing criticism of the government's handling of disaster recovery efforts, Senate President Kely Bastien requested that Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis appear before the Senate to defend the government's management of the USD 197 million in emergency funding authorized after a state of emergency was declared September 11. Influential Senator Jean Hector Anacacis (Lespwa, West) has criticized the lackof transparency in the government's spending andinfrastructure contracts awarded on an expeditedbasis after the recent hurricanes. Bastien's chif of staff told POLOFF November 26 that SenatorsBeauplan, Buissereth, and Latortue also supporte the move. The Prime Minister suspects this is an effort to topple Minister of Finance Daniel Dorsinvil. ¶3. (C) LAVALAS PLANS MARCH FOR DECEMBER 1. Lavalas Deputy Sorel Francois told POLOFF Novmber 21 that nearly 200 activists met at the Aritide Foundation the previous day to plan large mrches to commemorate the anniversary of former Pesident Jean-Bertrand Aristide's first election in 1990. The organizers of the event, affiliated with Maryse Narcisse and her faction of the party, will likely use the marches to demonstrate the extent of their grass-roots support. Francois predicted the marches would take place in the city of Tabarre -- site of Aristide's residence near Port-au-Prince -- or Champ de Mars in downtown Port-au-Prince. ¶4. (U) JUSTICE MINISTER ON JUDICAL REFORM AND CORRUPTION. New Minister of Justice Exume said the Haitian court system is ''inoperable and inefficient.'' In remarks delivered November 25 at a civil society conference organized by PACT-Haiti, an NGO that receives USAID support, Exume said judges are often untrained, incompetent or corrupt. He said greater effort to formally train and properly vet judges, as well as remove those deemed corrupt is needed. Exume appealed to civil society reps to continue their advocacy for justice and seek to broaden the participation of civil society members in judicial reform. ¶5. (U) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: HAITI MUST PROTECT GIRLS. Amnesty International released a report November 25, entitled: ''Don't Turn Your Back on Girls: Sexual Violence against Girls in Haiti.'' The report criticizes Haiti's failure to protect girls from sexual predators and says the GOH needs to do more to enforce existing laws covering sexual abuse and violence, reform the justice system to investigate these crimes, assist victims to pursue legal remedies, and punish violators. AI plans to return next March to conduct additional research. ¶6. (U) GUN-SLINGING DEPUTY RETURNS TO PARLIAMENT. Joseph Mercier Ysidor (RDNP),a deputy representing Jeremie, the largest city in Grande Anse Department, returned to Parliament in early November for the first time since he shot and wounded a bystander in an April 2 altercation in Parliament. (Ysidor had aimed for Deputy Antony Dumont, but missed.) Deputy Stephen Benoit (Lespwa) opposed Ysidor's return and called for the Chamber of Deputies to formally censure him over the incident. Ysidor told the press earlier this month that no charges have been pressed against him. In a largely uneventful meeting with POLOFF November 5, Ysidor said he returned to Parliament in part to argue for greater disaster relief efforts in Grand Anse. ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS -------------- ¶7. (U) FUEL PRICES: DOWNWARD TREND EXPECTED. The Ministry of Finance announced that beginning November 26, the price of some refined petroleum products will be reduced in Haiti. Gasoline 91-octane will be 144 Haitian gourdes (HTG), equivalent to USD 3.50 and down from 174 HTG (USD 4.40). Diesel will be 113 HTG (USD 2.80) -- down from 131 HTG (USD 3.25). The price of gasoline 95-octane and kerosene is expected to remain the same as the current stock was bought PORT AU PR 00001652 002 OF 002 at previous higher prices. ¶8. (U) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX FALLS. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) fell by 0.9 percent in the month of October, and the 12-month inflation rated declined to 18 percent -- down from 19.8 percent at the end of September. This is the first monthly drop in the CPI since July 2007. This decrease was due mainly to reductions in fuel and transportation costs. ¶9. (U) TRADE DEFICIT GROWS. Haiti's trade deficit reached USD 1.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2008, an increase of 52 percent from FY 2007. This represents more than 20 percent of GDP for the same period. Total exports were USD 400 million and imports were USD 1.9 billion. A decrease in total exports is projected in FY 2009 due to an expected reduction of U.S. demand for Haitian products. ¶10. (U) EXCHANGE RATE RISES. The exchange rate for the Haitian gourde (HTG) continued a slight upward trend in October, despite a large commercial bank transaction that dipped the rate sharply lower at the end of the month and reduced the monthly average rate to slightly below that of September. The official exchange rate reached 39.81 HTG/USD in October, down from 40 HTG/USD. ¶11. (U) TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR SHOWS DRAMATIC GROWTH. Recently released reports indicate the Haitian mobile telecommunications sector experienced dramatic growth between 2006 and 2007 due mainly to Ireland-based company Digicel's entry into the market. During its first 18 months of operation, Digicel secured 1.5 million subscribers. (Note: Haiti's fixed telephone line density is the lowest in Latin America, with fewer than 200,000 landlines. End note) Marcelin Montaigne, Director General of the Haitian Telecommunications Council (CONATEL),the Haitian equivalent of our Federal Communications Commission, reported that a final decision on the fate of the government-owned telephone company, TELECO, depends upon the report being prepared by the International Finance Corporation. Montaigne said future development of the Haitian telecommunications sector would require the creation of a national fiber optic backbone. SANDERSON