On April 8, 2010 Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, had announced the granting of a financing for the National Police Academy in the city of Ganthier, near the capital city of Port-au-Prince. This $18.1 million project, included not only the development of infrastructure, but also the necessary supply of equipment to train investigators and commissioners of the National Police of Haiti (PNH). Minister Oda at that time had underlined the importance of the construction of the Police Academy...

Almost one year later, nothing has been done on the ground, but the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has just withdrawn the tender for the construction of the infrastructure in Haiti, which should contribute to reduce the insecurity in the country...

CIDA says that the project is not abandoned, but no decision has been taken on a new tender. CIDA simply says that the tender was withdrawn because bidders did not meet its requirements...

This project is not new and is slow to materialize. The construction of the Police Academy was already foreseen in the five-year program (2006-2011) of CIDA. Work should have started approximately two years ago. A visit of a minister was to take place, it was canceled reported Mario Andresol, Director General of the National Police of Haiti which, nevertheless believes that the Canadian aid is "essential" so that Haiti has a police "well structured and well equipped".

For a year, only six tenders have been launched by Canada in connection with the activities of the Working Group on the stabilization and the reconstruction of Haiti. All are related to the reinforcement of the Haitian police. 50% of them were canceled or postponed to an undetermined date...

Right now, the managers (cadres) are trained in the ground, and security needs are urgent. "We're talking about transnational organized crime, and leave a weak link in the heart of the Caribbean, it would not be to the advantage of ourselves, Haitians, and of our other partners", explains the spokesman of the National Police of Haiti, Franz Lerebours. A training program supported by Canada will be established by early 2012, but without the promised space, three times fewer people will be trained.

HL/ HaitiLibre