has had residency for the five consecutive years necessary, but that s a question of law. we are talking on cnn which has primarily an audience outside of haiti. and so i think what s really important is that the last thing in the world haiti needs, and i m not accusing wyclef jean of being an opportunist. i don t know the man. but i think it s extremely important that we pay attention to both the individuals in the united states who are enamored with him, maybe not for his political strengths, and in particular for corporate interests that are enamored with him, and those that may themselves be opportunists on the back of the haitian people, but right now i worry that this
well run. so what he s doing there is truly extraordinary. wyclef is well known throughout haiti. he s viewed as an american success story. he came here when he was 9 years old. there s questions about his group, yele haiti. what he s doing. clearly there have been stories in the past about financial issues, about a lack of transparency, what he is doing with the money raised. he s now entering the realm of politics and these are hard questions that need to be answered. there s going to be a lot of focus on his organization and his ability to run an organization. there s also the question which he addressed a little bit tonight about those tax liens, major tax liens against him here in the united states. the view of him in port-au-prince and haiti is he s a rich american who is above corruption and can come in and help. bottom line, haiti needs leadership. as you pointed out, it needs leadership at all levels. there are entrenched elites there, there are, you know, generations of corru
major tax liens against him here in the united states. the view of him in port-au-prince and haiti is he s a rich american who is above corruption and can come in and help. bottom line, haiti needs leadership. as you pointed out, it needs leadership at all levels. there are entrenched elites there, there are, you know, generations of corruption and problems and interference from outside powers. we can go on and on with the difficulties that haiti now faces. but if they have some strong leadership, if they have commitment from the international community, you know, wolf, more than $5 billion has been promised to haiti a couple months ago from countries around the world. guess how much of that money has actually been delivered so far? about 3% to 5% at the most. it s stunning that the international community which was so focused on this early on has literally not written the checks that they promised. the united states being one of those countries. whereas a country like colombia, austra
corruption and can come in and help. bottom line, haiti needs leadership. as you pointed out, it needs leadership at all levels. there are entrenched ehelites there, this are jthere are generations of corruption and problems. we can go on and on with the difficulties haiti faces. but if they have strong here, if they havewe can go on and on wi difficulties haiti faces. but if they have strong here, if they have strong leadership, more than $5 billion has been promised. guess how much of that money has actually been deliver sod far. about 3% to 5% at the most. it s stunning that the international community which was so focused on this has not written the checks that they rommed, united states being one of those countries. haiti is still waiting. they have no money to pick about
you re absolutely right. it is heartbreaking to think about it. they make the pledges and don t write the checks. sean, what s your reaction to wyclef jean deciding he wants to run for the presidency? well, i ll tell you when i was asked to be on the show today, i had thought i would reserve judgment. but after paying attention to the things that were said, i feel that it s important to say that while president preval himself has made very clear the value of wyclef s voice as a songwriter, as someone the youth is quite enamored with and appointing him ambassador at large, which does not qualify someone who has had residency for the five consecutive years necessary, but that s a question of law. we are talking on cnn which has primarily an audience outside of haiti. and so i think what s really important is that the last thing in the world haiti needs, and i m not accusing wyclef queen of being an opportunist.