ARTICLE - MARTELLY - I WAS NOT AWARE

HAITI PRESIDENT MARTELLY: "...MAYBE, I WAS NOT AWARE."
(Defend Haiti) -

PORT-AU-PRINCE – President Michel Martelly was on full damage control Thursday, distancing himself from plans to demolish 450 homes of a hillside slum in the capital. In an interview, the president said he may not have been aware of the decision, saying his government is there to build homes for people not destroy them.

President Martelly said he learned of Monday’s street protests while out of the country in Brazil for the Rio+20 Sustainable Development Conference. At this time, the Head of State says he suggested that the approach should be reviewed.

On Scoop FM Radio, (via Le Nouvelliste) Martelly said of the decision to demolish the homes:

”If the decision is correct, we cannot retreat. We have an Environment Minister who made the decision; maybe I was not aware. Maybe I should not have used the technique employed. We are a government that is here to build more houses for people.”

”The idea should not have been to mark houses for demolition. I think we should have first prohibited the uncontrolled construction.”

Indeed, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe said the area was restricted from construction. Lamothe said owners of the hundreds of homes on the hillside did not have proper documentation to build. But the homes were not built overnight. These shanties have been a part of Haiti’s landscape for nearly two decades.

President Martelly provided an approach he would have preferred. It is an approach that involves giving other homes to the hillside residents and giving them jobs, perhaps meaning in the Northern Industrial Park, 80 miles north in Caracol, expected to be open in November 2012.

”This is a state decision. Once these buildings are prohibited, there should have been a team that oversees that there are no homes under construction in the area. After, they should meet with the owners of the 100 homes involved – I was told about 100 homes – to tell them, first, we’ll give you another house.”

”Secondly, we will give you a job. If the husband is already working, it will be given to his wife, because there will be an industrial park where they will be relocated to.”

”Thirdly, accompaniments for children, playground, free schools…”

The Head of State said he has spoken with the Minister of the Environment on changing the approach:

”I told him to review the approach. However, we must work on the hill.”

”If necessary, I will enter into the dynamics of talking to people to raise awareness and reassure them. A government that came to construct can not demolish houses. The approach was perhaps bad."

"We cannot demolish the houses and put people on the street. We should never do that. President Martelly can talk to them, and it could happen any other way… "

On Monday, protests in the streets of upper Port-au-Prince were hostile to the Head of State. The crowds marched and chanted threats to burn down the home of President Martelly. Despite the pressure, Martelly is steadfast that work must be done on the hillside, and people must be moved who are in danger of flooding and mudslides, as well as residents at the bottom of the hill in the city.

The hillside residents were given 15 days to relocate, as their homes will be demolished. The space will be used to construct drainage channels aimed at curbing flooding in the city.

The residents were offered 25,000 HTG ($600 [US]) to be moved and another 100,000 HTG ($2,400 [US]) for the construction of new homes. Residents are requiring ten times that amount to relocate.