Photos

Victor Déjean, 58, a Canadian businessman of Haitian origin a resident of Toronto and his companion Maryland Don't, 42, a resident of Montreal have been arrested on suspicion charges for smuggling drugs from Haiti to Canada. They were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Toronto and officers from the Police Service of the City of Montreal, followed by an investigation conducted by the Division of Federal and Airport Surveys (SEFA). A total of 4kg of cocaine was found with the suspects. Déjean Victor is the owner of Pavillon Marquette, a Medical Clinic, and also Cristina complex, which is a banquet center and a theater. He is a well known figure in the Haitian community in Montreal. Earlier on December 30, 2009, he was arrested with his brother Abel, for the same reasons in Port-au-Prince airport while they were waiting for a Canadian flight with a load of 2.35 kg cocaine. He was arrested by the Haitian police and was sent to the prison of Port-au-Prince. However, when the prison collapsed in the 2010 earthquake, he managed to escape home on an aircraft responsible to repatriate Canadian nationals.

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Here is Mr. Jacky Lumarque, Presidential candidate for Vérité Political party

As per news report dated May 4, 2015, the following three persons from the Haitian political arena have been nominated as candidates for the upcoming Presidential election by their respective political parties. They are: Jacky Lumarque (age: 58, candidate for Verite), Sauveur Pierre Etienne (age: 59, candidate for Organization of Struggling People, OPL), and Chavannes Jeune Baptiste (age: 63, National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papaye, MPNKP, candidate of Kontrapèpla). Out of these three Presidential candidates, Chavannes Jeune is a religious person, a Christian leader, pastor and evangelist. Lumarque and Etienne are persons with good educational backgrounds. Lumarque is a Mathematics graduate from Université Toulouse III, France, holds an MBA from Université Nice-Sophia Antipolis, France, and a Bachelor in Law from the Common Law, Université Lyon III, France. He's the President of Université Quisqueya and represents the following bodies and organization: Board of Directors of AUF (Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie), Member of the "Comité de Gestion" of AUF, Member of the "Conseil Associatif" of AUF, and Coordinator of the Presidential Working Group on Education. Sauveur Pierre Etienne is a doctorate in political science from the University of Montreal and the author of Haiti: The Invasion of NGOs (1997 CIDIHCA), and Haiti: Misery of Democracy (1999, Harmattan).

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Increase of 6.7% of minimum wage in textile industry in Haiti to take effect immediately

On Friday, May 1, 2015, at the ceremonies of Labor Day and agriculture, the President Martelly has announced an increase in the minimum wage rate by 6.7% over the current prevailing rate between 225 to 240 gourdes for an 8 hour daily work in the textile sector, with immediate effect. In the last year, On May 1, President Martelly announced 225 gourdes as the minimum wage rate for textile workers in compliance with a Presidential decree dated April 16, 2014. However, the textile workers found that this increase of minimum rate announced by 6.7% is far from their minimum requirement. They continued to demand a minimum earning of 500 gourdes excluding overtime remuneration.

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Improvement work on Bridge Pérédo on the Fesles river and river Orangers

On Friday, May 1, 2015, the Government Spokesperson Rothchild François Jr., accompanying Departmental Delegate of the South East Pierre Michel Lafontant, visited some of the major projects in the South East which are nearing the completion. Two of these projects were important bridges in the South East. Bridge Pérédo which would connect the arrondissement of Jacmel with Belle-Anse and the bridge of St-Antoine, connects Jacmel to Bainet. Another important project in the department was the expansion of the bed of river Orangers under funding of the French Development Agency (AFD). Five bridges under construction here will protect the city from flood threats. After the total reconstruction of the St Michel Hospital building, the hospital will have an accommodating capacity of 200 beds. This hospital was seriously damaged in the 2010 earthquake, now it is being constructed with the supports of Japan and Canada.

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It was not long that you needed 40 Haitian gourde to get one U.S. dollar. This is expected to increase even more.

The exchange rate for the Haitian Gourde per U.S. Dollar had remained unchanged at 47.20 between May 2014 and April 2015. The same currency exchange rate was averaged at 31.89 to a U.S. Dollar from 1994 until 2015 with a maximum of 50.00 (in February 2003) and a minimum of 14.85 (in August 1996). However, over dependence on import from countries like, the Dominican Republic and United States have resulted excessive outflow of foreign currency reserve, because the exporters of foreign countries accept payment only in their own currency or currency of their choice. Inflow of foreign currency in a country is mainly generated through its exports. Unfortunately, the imports in Haiti have always overshadowed Haitian exports. As a result, higher demand for U.S Dollar than its supply will eventually push its price higher. In consequence, the current exchange rate 48.75 gourdes for a dollar may soon surpass 50.00. If that happens, that would be the steepest devaluation of the Haitian gourde in past 15 years. To some extent, unstable economical and political situations, dysfunctional Parliament are also some of its contributing factors.

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Senator Westner Polycarpe seems to have the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) in a corner with the affair of First lady Sophia Martelly. He thinks that their credibility is at risk. In regard to Sophia Martelly, Senator Westner Polycarpe feels that she should be charged with fraud and the use of forged documents.

Recently, the sitting Senator, Dr. Westner Polycarpe, MD (Nord/Alternative) has said that the first Haitian Lady Sophia Martelly is a fraud. She should be charged for her fraudulent activities and use of forged documents. She denounced her Haitian citizenship in 1989, and till 31 March 2014, she had continued to be only a U.S citizen as no dual citizenship was permitted in the Haitian constitution till 2011. When she denounced her U.S. citizenship in 2011, she got an entitlement to become a Haitian citizen. Thus, by an act of forgery, she managed to get her first Haitian passport in 2009. Furthermore, her candidacy is questionable because, as the President of the National Commission Against Hunger & Malnutrition, she is still accountable for a balance of $234 million funds to the State Treasury. For that, she was supposed to submit a certificate of discharge issued by the Superior Court of Auditors and Administrative Disputes; instead she had submitted a discharge certificate issued the Ministry of Finance!

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Career journalist and former Minister for Communication in Haiti, Ady Jean Gardy, was awarded by the International Cultural Association "Arts and Letters of France", of the prestigious"Grand Prize International of history" for his work "stories of the Arawak Indians of Haiti".

Ady Jean-Gardy (born Haiti: 15 September 1967) is a man of many talents. He is a historian, reformist, international press activist, an international leader of peace, Chief of Staff of the Haitian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then became the Minister of Communication in Haiti between 2012-13. Ady Jean-Gardy has been awarded the French Academy Institute of Arts and Letters International History Prize during the weekend of May 2-3, 2015, on the International History Prize in the 47th annual history contest conducted in Bordeaux. The competition was limited to unpublished works: in particular, historical research not yet unveiled. The jury of the International Cultural Association has described his 500 page document as a project that has shed a new light on the life of Indian Arawaks of Haiti. The research has gone back to the days of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and the time when Arawaks arrived in the Caribbean in 1,500 years BC. His prize will be awarded to him at a gala ceremony in the French Academy on June in Angoulême.

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A picture of the National School of Plaisance in Haiti during construction in 2015

The construction of National School of Plaisance is moving toward the final phase. This school in the Nord department is being constructed under funding of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Government of Haiti under a school support program for a reconstruction of the education sector (ARSE 19). The program in the tune of the government's operational Plan for Education (2011-2015) emphasizes on the fact that every child in the country should have access to education and it is necessary as well for the benefit of the country to develop a pool of skilled labor over in the next decade. This school is one of the 19 Projects ARSE (Support Program to the Restructuring of the Education Sector in Haiti), that had been stalled for over a year period due to non-compliance of structural works with the standard.

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Here is a picture of Mr. Déjean Victor, owner of Pavillon Marquette in Montreal.

Victor Déjean, 58, a Canadian businessman of Haitian origin and one of his accomplices a Montreal resident Merlande Dont were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of Toronto and officers from the Police Service of the City of Montreal on a charge for smuggling drugs from Haiti to Canada. They were also accused of recruiting and using Canadian smugglers (carrier or mule). Their arrest was followed by an investigation conducted by the Division of Federal and Airport Surveys (SEFA) with the assistance of National Police of Haiti (PNH) which led to the arrest of several other suspects of Victor's gang. They were carrying a consignment of 4 kg of cocaine when arrested. Victor Déjean is a rich well known person in Montreal. He is the owner of Pavillon Marquette, a Medical Clinic, and Cristina complex, which includes a banquet hall and a theater. On an earlier occasion (30 December, 2009) Victor Déjean was arrested and imprisoned with his brother 'Abel' from Port-au Prince Airport while waiting for a Canadian flight with a load of 2.35 kg cocaine. But he escaped when the prison of Port-au Prince collapsed in the 2010 earthquake; he boarded an aircraft responsible to repatriate Canadian nationals.

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The Dominican Republic and Haiti must work together in order to survive in the island. Although the have been ongoing conflicts between the two they must find a way to work it out. In this context, INFOTEP and National Institute of Professional Training of Haiti (INFP) have decided to take the lead

The Director of the National Training Institute technical and professional Dominican (INFOTEP) have announced a collaboration between INFOTEP and the National Institute of Professional Training of Haiti (INFP) for the implementation of mobile classrooms for technical courses

As per a joint declaration by the Marina Gourgue, Secretary of State for Vocational Training of Haiti and Rafael Ovalles, the Director of the National Institute of Technical and Vocational Training (INFOTEP) of the Dominican Republic will help Haiti to extend the reach of mobile repairing technical training in Haiti. A collaboration agreement between the INFOTEP and the National Institute of Professional Training of Haiti (INFP) will be signed before the classrooms for technical course begins. Presently, there are 189 centers on mobile technical education-- 150 private, 17 public and 22 subsidized. Since they started functioning from 1999 about 25,000 people from impoverished background have received successful technical training.

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