With the outcome of the election in Haiti yet unknown, the Martelly government signed on Saturday, 23 October 2015 a US$50 million border “surveillance” agreement for land, air and sea with an Israeli company named HLSI. As reported in the media, the transitional Haitian government has transferred the border management to the Israeli company in a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Minister of Economy LaLeau Wilson for the government of Haiti and Eva Peled for HLSI. Linkedin says that Peled is a former lieutenant in the Israeli Air Force and is the CEO of Geomine and vice president of Mitrelli Group.
As reported in Haiti Libre, the contract was signed in the presence of Ronald Decembre, Secretary of State for Finance, Max Antoine, Executive Secretary of the Technical Commission of Borders (CTF), Herold Etienne, Director General of the Ministry of Finance, Victor St. Louis, Director General of Customs, Miradin Morlan, Director General of Taxes (DGI) and Lesy Etienne, Assistant Director General for Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Finance.
Among the objectives are: the restructuring and modernization of nine customs posts, acquisition of materials and equipment, air, land and sea surveillance and employee capacity building.
Hoy reports that days before the signing of the MoU, the government of Haiti had announced the construction of a merchandise transfer platform on the border with the Dominican Republic. The plan is to transfer goods from Dominican freight trucks to Haitian-owned freight trucks for their transport to their destination in Haiti. The transfer point would be built in Fonds Bayard, near the Malpasse border point that is 98 km east of Port-au-Prince. Construction was awarded to Antilles Construction and would cost US$4 million, as reported in Hoy.
The announcements come while the government of Haiti has unilaterally banned land transport of 23 consumer goods coming from the Dominican Republic. The Haitian government has alleged it has been losing tax revenues from the imported goods.
Read more:
http://www.ezilidanto.com/zili/2015/10/barbarians-inside-and-at-haiti-gates-israeli-hlsi-and-eva-peled/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/evapeled