An appeal to focus instead on our true needs to emerge from the current crisis of leadership and thrive
by Guerton Auguste
Every time I make myself available to attend a Zoom meeting on the search for solutions to the unending and intolerable crisis in Haiti, the conversation almost always turns to a discussion or even a verbal fight over the current constitution of Haiti…regardless of the advertised theme of the discussion or the line items listed on the agenda. Quite often, the panelists accomplish none of their original goals for the gathering by the time the meeting ends.
To believe the former senator from the Northeast of Haiti, Jacques Sauveur Jean, and many others like him, Haiti will never amount to anything unless we return to the “Dessalinian” Constitution. No other constitution will do. Never, do they remind their listeners that Jean-Jacques Dessalines was one of several valiant men who signed the historic and earth-shattering document in 1805. Here too, the lament is similar: we have a “constitution” problem.
In fairness to that camp, they do admit that their preferred constitution would require some changes to make it amenable to the current reality. To them though, Haiti is cursed because she has walked away from her original, founding constitution.
It’s pure hogwash! But it sounds “patriotic.” So, they keep repeating that statement ad nauseam to impress their emotional listeners.
Closer to us, we have politicians like Jerry Tardieu and others who are determined to amend the constitution, irrespective of the present political climate in Haiti, and regardless of their legitimacy to be the leaders of such an important debate due to their own self-serving agenda. In the case of Tardieu, an actual conflict of interest is self-evident as he is a presumed presidential candidate at the next s-election.
Additionally, some of these amendment pushers want to rush to an election with a newly amended constitution, with no parliament in place and very little debate despite the insecurity and the climate of fear that has descended on Haiti and beclouded the future for the Haitian people.
So, we must ask: “What is the rush?” Is the agenda placed before us as innocent as it seems? Or is it merely a cynical ploy to maintain the status quo? Or worse, to obtain further notoriety for their camp at the expense of a suffering people.
Then, you have a third group who is determined to federalize the Haitian political system. And yet, the existing constitution, assuming they would run for election on it, or on the proposed amended constitution above if adopted, would preempt the very program they are proposing to the people.
Let’s allow the confusion of the Federalists to sit there for a while. We’ll return to it.
There are several groupings of pro-amendment advocates. Just recently, I learned of another prominent camp (a fourth camp to mention only these) led by former Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant advocating for an amendment that would add English as an official language to Haiti’s constitution. It is not clear to me when Mr. Lafontant would wish to insert this last amendment. If immediately, it is an ill-timed idea; and Mr. Lafontant should be ignored. He has made some valid arguments on behalf of his proposal, though. Needless to say, his proposal is not politically correct, to say the least among the pro-creole nationalists. Nevertheless, it is a debate worth having, but at the proper time.
In the spirit of transparency, I must admit that I am not ideologically opposed to some form of Mr. Lafontant’s proposal, but conditionally. I wrote about the subject in the past. And my views on it are published online.
Let’s first address the constitution’s “blamers” for the chaos in Haiti.
Asked differently: did the 1987 constitution OR the 1987 amended constitution cause the political crisis we are enduring in Haiti today? Basic common sense says, No.
This is NOT an argument against amending the Constitution. I am already on record for saying that the 1987 amended constitution should again be amended. But this is purely a subjective preference of mine.
What if the Haitian people decided to vote AGAINST amending the constitution for whatever reason? After all, it’s their right, assuming of course it was done through a fair and honest referendum. Would that mean that the country is condemned to remain in crisis for having voted down an amendment to the existing constitution? Where is it written that an amended constitution (or a non-amended constitution) is a sine qua non to economic and political progress?
So, if we agree that the current Haitian constitution is NOT really our biggest problem, does not it stand to reason that prioritizing amending it right now, at this juncture, is either self-serving, foolish, a short-sighted exercise, or a total waste of time? I am here advising that ALL the constitutional amendment supporters cool their engines for the time being to focus on what truly hails our nation.
Let me be clear: Haiti’s constitution has NOT turned Haiti into the mess that it is today.
Haitians who don’t give a damn about the constitution (any constitution) or what the constitution says, have turned Haiti into the mess that it is today!
Did you know, by the way, that there exist 5 countries around the world today with no written constitution? And yet, they are running just fine.
A constitution is a piece of paper or document that is agreed upon by the majority of the citizens of a country or their representatives. It is sometimes referred to as a country’s manual. A constitution does nothing for you if honorable men and women don’t stand up to protect it or put their lives on the line to preserve it. A constitution, therefore, is solely guaranteed and validated by the willingness of men and women in power to abide by it.
A constitution can be promulgated by brute force or enacted by fear (The Duvalier 1964 Constitution). Or it can be arrived at via the uncoerced free will of the citizenry through fair and democratic debates by the people and their representatives. If the latter, it is therefore the product of an honor system.
An honor system is incompatible with dishonorable advocates. If, as the saying reminds us, “there is no honor among thieves,” it is foolish to place dishonorable men and women in charge of such an honor system.
So, in a country that is mired in insecurity and criminality, run by political leaders with zero legitimacy, it is fair to ask: what type of constitutional process does Tardieu and Co intend to offer to the Haitian people, when by all honest accounts, the country is not yet ready to begin engagement in constitutional debates and much less vote on an amended constitution in a free and fair referendum. I understand that the pushers of the amended constitution may not see it that way from their perches in the suburbs of Petion-Ville.
Haiti’s leaders are so thoroughly corrupt that even if God came down from the mountains with a constitution for Haiti, it would do no good in the current chaotic environment of the country. A constitution is therefore useless without the presence of men and women of honor in power. No constitution could have kept Papa Doc from sending his opponents to the Gulag.
Sadly, we have very few honorable men in power in Haiti, today. So what do we do then? We must de-emphasize and de-prioritize the need for an amended constitution and prioritize the search for men and women of honor to place in positions of trust.
Even in a country with a strong judicial system like America, we just witnessed an imprudent president sign an executive order to subvert a long-standing clause of the constitution, which guarantees birthright citizenship to anyone born on American soil. That executive order was blatantly and indubitably unconstitutional. President Trump had to know it. But the president–America’s legal bandit–did it anyway to poke the system as he counted on his ideological enablers on the Supreme Court to bless his edict.
There is no substitute for honor in a democratic system of governance.
In Haiti, we are so far off the constitutional track that discussions of constitutional amendments are a cruel joke. The current leadership cannot even create a climate where the people can come out to express their free will and consent to the proposed changes to the Constitution without placing their very lives at risk.
Yes, a clarifying constitutional amendment would be a good thing in the right environment. But an amendment is not an absolute necessity to run Haiti, if we have patriotic and honest men and women who truly place Haiti first. My argument is not against amending the Constitution; it is an argument for the unessentiality of a focus on constitutional amendment at this time.
So, I must ask:
— What missing amendment would prevent the “Gang of 9” running the country from wallowing in unfathomable corruption?
— What missing amendment would facilitate the opening of the major arteries of the country to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, with no fear of being kidnapped?
— What missing constitutional amendment do our leaders need to pick up the trash from our streets, provide electricity, supply potable water, and open our principal airport in Port-au-Prince?
— Do they need a constitutional amendment to bring Ti-Lapli and Lanmò Sanjou to justice or to send them to their maker, preferably the latter?
— Do they need a constitutional amendment to bring the makers and masters of the gang leaders to justice and to guarantee them the same fate as their foot soldiers?
— What constitutional amendment do Haiti’s leaders need to project dignity and competence around the country and the world?
— What constitutional amendment do they need to give the police the equipment and remuneration they deserve to pacify the country?
— What constitutional amendment do they need to stop genuflecting before CARICOM and the US Embassy in Port-au-Prince?
Oh, I know what Haiti’s leaders REALLY need: they need character and a little bit of “Dessalinian” pride.
They don’t need no damned amendments.
In fact, they don’t even need — and we don’t want — a rushed election, which would serve as a facade to transfer power to their cronies and maintain this venal system in place. We need change! We need a real transition. Only a real transition embraced by the entire nation at home and abroad would bring about the change we need.
With respect to the Federalists I mentioned above, they are the only political party I know of that could not deliver any of the stuff they promised unless the constitution is amended. I maintain that you do not necessarily need to change the constitution to change Haiti for the better.
If Federalism is indispensable for Haiti’s economic development as its proponents seem to suggest, they need to be on the front line to demand change in the constitution. If not, their mission statement to change Haiti is disingenuous or vain.
We don’t need to go far to prove that Federalism is unnecessary to place a country on the path of development. If you are in Haiti, all you need to do is: take a look over the fence at your neighbor to the East. The Dominican Republic has a unitary political system. Their system seems to be doing just fine.
Is the argument from the Federalists: the Dominicans can develop their country without a federalist system, but we Haitians, can’t? I am not even going to mention the fact that there exist countries that were once federal, which reverted to unitary. That alone would be enough to “rest my case.”
Federalism is a valuable political arrangement when a country has vast territories. We don’t. Or when a country has smallish, dispersed pockets of semi-autonomous territories. A federalist system would combine the smallish territories, which may not be politically or economically viable on their own to form a larger territory.
For example, let’s imagine that La Gonave, La Tortue (you can even throw in La Navase if it wasn’t stolen from us) were autonomous territories. A Haitian leader would be justified to propose the creation of a federal system to encompass these territories and join them to Haiti to create a larger nation with combined resources.
A good example of a similar arrangement is found between the tiny territories of St Kitts & Nevis, which merged their tiny territories to form a larger federation.
Though I am not ideologically indisposed to federalism, the argument I posited above against wasting our energies over a fight for constitutional amendments to the Haitian constitution stands here as well. There is no necessity to engage on such a course simply because this is not what we urgently need; Such a path is not necessary, just looking at the Dominican Republic model alone.
One additional piece of evidence for the unnecessity of a federal system for Haiti is Rwanda. That African country is actually about the size of Haiti. But unlike Haiti, it had a history of tribal warfare. Rwanda would have plenty of justification to federate their land to provide some degree of autonomy to each side. And yet, the Rwandans chose the path of unitary governance.
What Haiti truly needs right now is a real transition, which would put forward patriotic, competent, and honorable men and women who would place Haiti first above all else. No constitutional amendments and no election are urgent. Not right now.
The country is simply not ready and capable of engaging in these civic activities in its current condition. We must come together to pull Haiti out of the scatological hole our leaders have put it in and offer our citizens some semblance of stability and hope to counter its psychological traumas.
I am afraid we will need a THIRD TRANSITION. A real and final transition toward a Haiti run by compatriots we can all be proud of.
But How? is the burning question. No country on earth can be effectively governed by 9 chief executives no matter how competent they may be. Every citizen endowed with common sense knew it would not — indeed could not — work. Going by a fair presumption, we can all be certain that the so-called “presidents” knew it too. No one with integrity would accept such a job. So, we cannot count on the leadership of Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council to care for Haiti.
The international sponsors of this sham must have known too, that their agreed-upon arrangement would not work. I sent several tweets to CARICOM and Mia Mottley specifically, to warn that the chosen path would inevitably lead to more chaos. You’d recall how they bought off Moise Jean-Chales right out of the arms of Guy Philippe who had himself proposed another shallow idea to compete with CARICOM’s scheme. Guy had proposed a CPT with 3 heads instead of 7/9. I have come to call Mr Philippe’s proposal: Option 3 or derisively, another CPT at 60% off. Plus, his came with the promise of security in 90 days. Don’t laugh!
But, why would The international sponsors of the transitional government agree to something as flagrantly unsustainable as the above arrangement? Short answer: They have no respect for Haitian leaders.
CARICOM had figured out that this was not about: Haiti. So, the only way to pacify these pesky pigs was to bring all of them to the trough. That worked beautifully for most of the pigs. But there was one yet to be apprehended (MJC). And he is one noisy pig. He had bespoiled the front gate of the US Embassy in Tabarre on several occasions with rowdy demonstrations and hoisted the Russian flag for further effect. This was not good publicity for the empire. So, the actual rulers of Haiti offered to drop a “president” in MJC’s pocket plus a ministry to oversee in return for his silence. That worked!
With leaders of such shitty character, Haiti needs no enemy. There is no bigger political charlatan and populist hustler in Haiti than Moise Jean-Charles. Can we come up with a constitutional amendment to discard him from Haiti’s political scene?
The CARICOM leaders had furthermore calculated that they would keep the “pigs” fighting among themselves and occupied while slipping in a strong Prime minister to rule the plantation. Gary Conille’s arrogance got in the way of their plan. He had thought that the 9 “presidents” would simply be content with the glory of the post and its perks while Conille would do what he damned pleased with the ministries, a la Fatra doc, I mean Ariel Henry. The CPT outsmarted Conille.
Taking advantage of the transition here in America and the preoccupation of Conille’s masters at State to get out of Dodge before the arrival of Trump, The CPT leaders connived to kick Conille to the curb within the small window of opportunity they were provided while the Democrats were nurturing their political wounds after the US election. When Conille called his foreign backers and the National Police for support to maintain his rule, he got a busy signal. Conille folded docilely and escaped the country in humiliation.
Did a constitution cause any of this? What amendment would erase this deficit of character we encounter in the leaders of our country? We must cast these people aside and come up with new leaders who would not sell us out for a political job or a paycheck.
As a people, we must engineer a way out of this quandary on our own. We must do a reset, and postpone the elections and all talks of constitutional amendments until stability and security return to Haiti.
To that end, I have proposed what I affectionately call Option 4 or the Lascahobas Political Transition Plan For Haiti. I will not go into all the details here. But you can read its essence online if you wish. It is the only non-partisan, truly Haiti-first proposal with no hidden agenda that I am aware of. Its only beneficiaries would be Haiti and the Haitian people.
Essentially, it requires us to turn to the people now to nominate the leaders they want and approve to conduct the political transition — a real transition. Neither the Republic of Port-au-Prince’s political leaders nor any other non-Haitian international organization would be allowed to meddle in our affairs. The plan is based on the premise that without a fully representative transitional government in place, Haiti has no hope of ever returning on the rail of progress and prosperity.
The plan calls for:
1) organizing a regional congress in all the 10 departments of the country, sequentially
2) each region/department would nominate 3 delegates/nominees out of however many representatives it had achieved with each commune and rural section represented by their own delegates at the regional nominating congress
3) at least 1 of the 3 finalists for each region/department must be a woman; and 1 of the regional delegates may be from the diaspora, provided he/she was chosen by the citizens of that department
4) the same process would be repeated in every department of the country, and all delegates would be vetted by the authorities of their regions and/or nationally. A Certificate Of Good Citizenship must be on hand for all nominees
5) at the conclusion of the regional congresses, The organizers of the movement would gather in a national congress (somewhere TBD) where the regional delegates would be sworn in as the legitimate representatives of the citizens of their regions for a total of 30 delegates (10×3). The delegates would thus become the National Representatives of the people of Haiti and be officially seated in Haiti’s parliament building in Port-au-Prince.
6) the national representatives would elect their leader and vice-leader in open or secret ballots among them
7) the leaders would organize various committees for the proper functioning of the National Governing Council and its oversight functions (read the proposal online for further details) and hire a Secretary and other staff, as needed
8) The national representatives would elect a president and chief executive for the nation. Each region would be entitled to submit one name/nominee for consideration, before the election. No one region will ever again have dominance over Haiti’s political affairs
9) the National Governing Council would then select 5 competent, fully vetted nominees for prime minister to send to the transitional president’s deck. Out of whom, the president MUST pick his prime minister and partner to run the executive branch of the government. Having been previously vetted by the National Governing Council, the transitional president can hire (or not hire) any — or — all of the remaining candidates for other posts, as he/she sees fit without any further consent from the National Governing Council.
10) the newly elected (transitional) chief executive would then instruct the Chief Of Police that henceforth he/she only reports to the Transitional President as the choice of the people’s representatives and to the relevant committee in the National Governing Council.
11) At the conclusion of step # 8, The services of the CPT would no longer be needed. All salaries and benefits would be cut off. As responsible leaders, we would continue to provide for their personal security and that of their immediate family — especially for those who had supported the people’s wishes for self-governance — as threats are assessed and deemed credible by the authorities.
For further details, please see the plan outline online. This is how you do a true political transition if you are serious about your country and have no hidden agenda. This is truly a Haiti-First plan.
The beauty of this plan is that it would effectively return the country to democracy as each region would be fully represented and the new leaders of the movement would regain the trust of the people. With trust re-established, The Haitian people can now engage in appropriate debates around the constitution and how they want to be governed going forward as provided for in a newly amended constitution.
I am not oblivious to the fact that none of this is easy. Or that the political class will roll over and allow real change. I am counting on a patriotic police force to help out, not serve as henchmen for criminals in high and low places, and on the fighting spirit of the Haitian people to get organized to bring about real change, at last.
I am also cognizant that this proposal would require serious resources. I am convinced that the resources are not only available, but they would be committed, if we can convince patriotic donors and all lovers of Haiti that we are done with crooks and fraudsters passing for our political leaders; and that we shall not deceive them once more. On that, they have my unwavering and eternal pledge.
I further pledge not to allocate one penny to myself and any of my progeny out of the funds raised for this campaign to rid Haiti of corruption. I am blessed with sufficient resources to carry me through the rest of my days comfortably. I will not accept a salary for my efforts in this cause.
This is not a search for glory and fortune for me. This would strictly be my benevolent contribution to the country that gave me birth.
Before my passing from this earth, I wish to prove that there exist Haitian men and women of goodwill, dignity, and probity who can run their country without shaming their families and their compatriots and making their ancestors roll in their graves. So help me God!
On to real Change. Our ancestors deserve no less. Let’s go make Haiti and Haitians proud again.
Guerton “Babi” Auguste is a long-suffering HaPLA (Haitian Patriot living Abroad) and political analyst who has been kept out of his homeland for too long.