By Jonasson Odigène, Le Nouvelliste, Nov. 11, 2024
According to Montana Accord spokesperson Jacques Ted Saint-Dic, "we have had no contact with Fritz Alphonse Jean, who sits within the CPT, since June 7". Confirming a breakdown in communication between the BSA and the Presidential Advisor. According to Saint-Dic, this break in communication follows the BSA's demand that Jean return the funds allocated for intelligence services, which are alleged to have been misappropriated. Saint-Dic emphasized that Jean has never responded to this demand. He noted that all nine Presidential Advisors and the government are involved in the case.
Saint-Dic explained that "since April 30, when the embezzlement of intelligence funds for personal gain was exposed, we had a conversation with Jean to tell him that he could not be part of this. We made it clear to him that this money must be returned". Adding that the BSA will not engage with those who have betrayed the April 3rd Agreement.
The funds allocated for intelligence services amount to 25 million gourdes per month. In a previous article, Le Nouvelliste reported on the salary, benefits, and expenses of the Presidential Advisors, referring to the investigation report by the Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC), which cited the testimony of Presidential Advisor Smith Augustin.
According to this document, in addition to a salary of 220,000 gourdes, the Presidential Advisors receive the following, according to the report: one (1) check representing one-third (1/3) of their salary for operational expenses; residential expenses of four hundred thousand gourdes (400,000 HTG); monthly intelligence funds for the presidency amounting to twenty-five million gourdes (25,000,000 HTG); a prepaid card ranging from four hundred thousand to five hundred thousand gourdes (400,000 to 500,000 HTG); a fuel voucher of two hundred fifty thousand gourdes (250,000 HTG); and a recharge card of twenty thousand gourdes (20,000 HTG).
This publicized break in contact between the BSA and Fritz Alphonse Jean marks the end of nearly three years of collaboration between the two parties.
Since his election as president of the Montana Accord in May 2022, the relationship between Fritz Alphonse Jean and the BSA has been tumultuous. It is important to remember that in September 2022, Jean was accused by Jacques Ted Saint-Dic of being involved in a plot "aimed at destabilizing the Montana Accord."
Translated by CHIP editors
Posted Nov. 14, 2024