Filed under: News, Politics, Race and Civil Rights
![Haiti Elections Could Unlock Billions from Donors]()
The United States and other nations who have promised to send earthquake-ravaged Haiti billions of dollars in reconstruction aid funding have been put in a difficult situation by the terrible political situation on the island-nation.
The overwhelming majority of donor nations want to get the cash into the hands of the one million people displaced from their homes to help alleviate the suffering. But getting the funding into the people's hands means it has to pass through the government's hands. And therein lies the problem.
For decades, Haiti has had the reputation as one of the most corrupt governments in the world. The administration of outgoing president Rene Preval was no exception.
The prevailing thought from world capitals was that sending billions of dollars in aid would likely mean that only millions would get to the people. The rest would stick to the hands of greedy politicians and end up in foreign bank accounts.
Of more than $2 billion in aid pledged, just $900 million has been distributed as of late November. And the U.S. hasn't sent any of the $1.15 billion it promised to Haiti.
With national elections about to conclude, maybe the international money will begin to flow.
The elections which began two weeks ago were marked by charges of corruption and balloting improprieties. But a runoff election between the top two primary finishers is scheduled for Jan. 16 and that might signal a new day for Haiti in which donor nations feel their money will be spent properly.
One thing is certain. If the new president can't win the confidence of international governments, the suffering of everyday Haitians will only get worse.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,localizationConfig,entry&id=868400&pid=868399&uts=1291661899
http://www.aolcdn.com/ke/media_gallery/v1/ke_media_gallery_wrapper.swf
Your Hottest News Stories
Charles Rex Arbogast, AP
Getty Images North America
Your Hottest News Stories
02-Dec-10 - Chicago's infamous projects Cabrini-Green are finally being closed after 68 years.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
01-Dec-10 - Two Edmond, Okla., women were arrested for shoplifting goods from a retail store then hiding the items within the folds of their body fat.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
30-Nov-10 - Rashad Walker Jr. was killed in the back of his mother's minivan in Syracuse, N.Y.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
30-Nov-10 - Shereé Whitfield of Bravo's Real Housewives of Atlanta fame might be facing eviction yet again -- this time from her rented mansion.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
29-Nov-10 - Facebook Pastor Cedric Miller resigned from his post, after it became public that he had a three-way sexual relationship with his male assistant in wife. Now, it's being reported that he will return to his job.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
23-Nov-10 - Beyonce's little sis, Solange Knowles got peeved off when she read that Sarah Palin thought First Lady Michelle Obama was a racist.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
23-Nov-10 - R&B singer Fantasia Barrino took the witness stand in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday to testify in the divorce of her boyfriend, Antuan Cook.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
22-Nov-10 - There are reports that Rev. Cedric Miller had a three-way sexual relationship with his wife and a male assistant at his church.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
20-Nov-10 - Political analyst James Carville made a comment about President Barack Obama testicles at a breakfast event.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
16-Nov-10 - Forty-five years after he was killed by an Alabama State Trooper, Jimmie Lee Jackson, whose death lead to the first civil rights march on Selma, he is finally getting a small measure of justice.
Click Here for the Complete Story
Your Hottest News Stories
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
