Four. A large percentage of the money went to international
aid agencies, and big well connected non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The American Red Cross received over
$486 million in donations for Haiti. It
says two-thirds of the money has been contracted to relief and recovery
efforts, though specific details are difficult to come by. The CEO of American Red Cross has a salary of
over $500,000 per year.
Look at the $8.6 million joint
contract between the US Agency for International Development (USAID) with the
private company CHF for debris removal in Port au Prince. CHF is politically well-connected
international development company with annual budget of over $200 million whose
CEO was paid $451,813 in 2009. CHF's connection to Republicans and Democrats
is illustrated by its board secretary, Lauri Fitz-Pegado, a partner with the
Livingston Group LLC. The Livingston
Group is headed by the former Republican Speaker-designate for the 106th
Congress, Bob Livingston, doing lobbying and government relations. Ms. Fitz-Pegado, who apparently works the
other side of the aisle, was appointed by President Clinton to serve in the
Department of Commerce and served as a member of the foreign policy expert
advisor team on the Obama for President Campaign. CHF "works in Haiti out of two spacious
mansions in Port au Prince and maintains a fleet of brand new vehicles" according
to Rolling Stone.
Rolling Stone, in an excellent article by
Janet Reitman, reported on another earthquake contract, a $1.5 million contract
to the NY based consulting firm Dalberg Global Development Advisors. The article found Dalberg's team "had never
lived overseas, didn't have any disaster experience or background in urban
planning" never carried out any program activities on the ground-- and only one
of them spoke French. USAID reviewed
their work and found that "it became clear that these people may not have even
gotten out of their SUVs."
Presidents George W. Bush and Bill
Clinton announced a fundraising venture for Haiti on January 16, 2010. As of October 2011, the fund had received $54
million in donations. It has partnered
with several Haitian and international organizations. Though most of its work appears to be
admirable, it has donated $2 million to the construction of a Haitian $29
million for-profit luxury hotel.
"The NGOs still have something to
respond to about their accountability, because there is a lot of cash out
there," according to Nigel Fisher, the UN's chief humanitarian officer in
Haiti. "What about the $1.5 to $2
billion that the Red Cross and NGOs got from ordinary people, and matched by
governments? What's happened to
that? And that's where it's very
difficult to trace those funds."
Five. Some money went to for profit companies whose
business is disasters.
Less than a month after the quake hit, the
US Ambassador Kenneth Merten sent a cable titled "THE GOLD RUSH IS ON" as part
of his situation report to Washington.
In this February 1, 2010 document, made public by The Nation, Haiti
Liberte and Wikileaks, Ambassador Merten reported the President of Haiti met
with former General Wesley Clark for a sales presentation for a Miami-based company that builds foam core
houses.
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