Haiti bribery scandal needs ‘speedy resolution’ to save transition

Bank Bribery Scandal

PORT-AU-PRINCE — A bank bribery scandal involving members of Haiti’s ruling transitional government, which threatens efforts to stabilize the country through presidential elections next year, could not come at a worse time, according to an eminent group of former Caribbean leaders who recently visited the troubled nation.

The group, led by the prime ministers of the Bahamas, Jamaica and St. Lucia, says that if Haitians are to preserve the integrity of the ongoing political transition that was forged over the spring amid a deadly gang insurgency and deepening political, humanitarian and economic crises, there needs to be a “speedy resolution” to the corruption scandal and “a return to the ethos of the agreement” that was forged in Jamaica on March 11.

The agreement, formed with the help of the 15-member Caribbean Community regional bloc known as CARICOM, the United States and other nations was built on inclusiveness, consensus and accountability, the former prime ministers representing CARICOM said.