12911: Aristide denounces corruption at Haiti's revenue department (AP) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: MKarshan@aol.com

Aristide denounces corruption at Haiti's revenue department saying

August 26, 2002 8:23pm

BC-Haiti-Aristide,0259

Aristide denounces corruption at Haiti's revenue department saying more than
dlrs 100,000 is missing

AP Photos

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide on
Monday denounced corruption in the country's revenue department, saying large
sums of money have disappeared in the past few months.

Traveling with heavy security to the revenue department, Aristide said 3
million gourdes (dlrs 107,500) had disappeared from state coffers.

"After my visit, we will transfer or fire some employees," he said, providing
no further details.

He added that officials would investigate employees and jail those who are
found guilty of corruption. Aristide also called on citizens and state and
private institutions to pay the taxes they owe.

"My government has a lot of responsibilities to satisfy the needs of the
Haitian people but paying taxes is important to fulfill our commitment,"
Aristide said.

Haiti remains locked in a political stalemate that began with flawed
elections in 2000. It has since been deprived of millions of dollars of
international assistance until an agreement on new elections is reached.

One of the world's poorest countries, Haiti has been in an economic
depression since l980. The average per capita income of Haiti's 8.3 million
people is about one dollar a day, and the economic growth rate fell below
zero last year.



AP-NY-08-26-02 2023EDT