Ousted Haitian president costing SA taxpayer R5m a year

Ousted former Haitian leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide is continuing to receive special treatment from the state with state-funded accommodation, office staff, transport and security equivalent to that provided to a Cabinet minister. A conservative estimate puts Aristide's total annual cost to the South African taxpayer at upwards of R5-million.

TAXPAYERS are coughing up about R5-million a year to host ousted Haitian president Jean- Bertrand Aristide, the DA claimed yesterday.

Kenneth Mubu, the party’s spokesman on international relations and co-operation, used details obtained in Parliament to outline the costs of providing a safe haven for “a powerful man with a tainted reputation”.

The international relations department confirmed that Aristide has lived in Gauteng since taking refuge in South Africa in May 2004.

He was ousted from power in Haiti after months of political instability. Former president Thabo Mbeki’s government said at the time that Aristide’s stay in the country would be a “temporary arrangement until the Haitian situation stabilises”.

But, five years later, Aristide is still here and the DA now wants to know the cost of his continued presence in the country.

Mubu said that the department’s answers about Aristide have not been satisfactory and that the DA is now planning to investigate the matter further.

It is believed that Aristide, as a government guest, enjoys similar living arrangements to those of Cabinet ministers.

“The monthly costs related to his [Aristide’s] accommodation, transport, office staff and security are similar to the cost associated with a South African Cabinet minister,” the department confirmed in its reply to Mubu.

The department added that keeping the former Haitian president safe was “integrated into the operations of government”.

Mubu said a “conservative estimate” meant that taxpayers were parting with at least R5-million a year for Aristide’s stay.

He said ministerial houses were valued at R3-million to R4-million and the value of an annual car allowance stands at R1.2-million.

“The reply does not say how many staff are employed to manage Aristide’s affairs, but if he employs three people, this could easily be costing the state R500000 a year,” said Mubu.

He said VIP state security for President Jacob Zuma costs R1-million a month but, for Aristide, it could cost R600000 a year — if it’s “even a 20th of this [Zuma’s security]”.

“South Africa has to cope with a flood of refugees fleeing persecution and corrupt government. If we are to spend money on refugees, we should rather spend it on processing the applications of those who are really in need, not on maintaining at enormous expense a powerful man with a tainted reputation,” said Mubu.

The Times contacted Nomfanelo Kota, spokeswoman at the department of international relations and co-operation, but she said the department would only be able to comment today.