Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo
“They (the US) have all the resources…and if they can’t deal with the problem how do they expect us,”
HAITI: Jagdeo rushes to the defence of earthquake devastated Haiti
Posted by admin on 3/12/10 • Categorized as Haiti, Weather/Natural Disaster
“They have all the resources…and if they can’t deal with the problem how do they expect us,” Jagdeo stated.
ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC – Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday, developed countries are using the charges of corruption against Haiti as an excuse to deny the country aid and accused Caribbean states of accepting too readily the will of the United States.
“We have to start to thinking on our own. We need in this region to understand what are our challenges and not be afraid to confront them and to say to the developed world that we need real partnerships in these matters,” Jagdeo told journalists as he addressed the question of how to ensure that aid sent to Haiti did not meet with corrupt practices.
On the first fill working day of the 21st CARICOM Intersessional meeting here in Roseau, the Guyanese President also lashed out at the United States, saying there were ways to ensure that monies sent to earthquake-devastated Haiti was used to address the genuine needs of that CARICOM member state, whose immediate concerns are expected to come into sharp focus during the two-day deliberations of Caribbean leaders.
“The developed world institutions use corruption as an excuse. You can build strong systems through a series of audits, public procurement, international plus local teams’ evaluation, to prevent corruption when funds flow through agencies.
“And sometimes we tend to parrot what the developed world says or sometimes what the prevailing media see as the going story…and it is often about third world corruption. I have seen this as an excuse not to give Haiti money,” Jagdeo stated.
The CARICOM member state has been hard hit by a January 12 earthquake which claimed an estimated 300 000 lives while leaving scores of others homeless and destroying much of the infrastructure in the capital Port au Prince.
As Heads of Government get ready to zero-in on drug trafficking in their deliberations on regional security, Jagdeo also questioned what he called the failure of the United States to curb drug trafficking within its borders.
“Half of the drugs produced, flowing through the world… end up in the US so it means that their law enforcement agencies fail. There is a failure to block it at their borders and they lecture us for not doing enough.
“They have all the resources…and if they can’t deal with the problem how do they expect us,” Jagdeo stated.
haiti-cuba-venezuela 
Posted on March 12, 2010
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