IS WYCLEF QUALIFIED TO BE HAITI'S PRESIDENT?
Wycelf officially announced his candidacy for Haiti's next presidency last night on CNN's 'Larry King Live' despite news outlets reporting it last week. But that isn't the "meat and potatoes" of the story: Does he really qualify to hold political leadership for his homeland? Keep reading.
Wyclef spoke to CNN live from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti as Wolf Blitzer quizzed the 40-year-old entertainer on why he's fit for political leadership. Wyclef said he was being "drafted by the people of Haiti" to run, especially that now there's an opportunity to literally and figuratively rebuild the broken country after the quake.
On his qualifications...
"When i look at the past 200 years with what our people have suffered, Wolf-- Political instability cools after cou de tas. I feel like me running, it brings a neutral situation. Meaning that Wyclef Jean can sit with any political party and have a conversation. I'm coming in neutral."
Funding for his presidential campaign...
"Well I'm going to go out and I'm going to campaign, and I'm going to raise money. So what I'm hoping is all of my friends that are watching this-- from all of my entertainers from the Hollywood connections that I have made around the world-- and we're doing to do also a local campaign-- on the internet, too, which I was inspired after looking at President Barack Obama's online elections."
Financial Irresponsibility
Here's where things got sticky. Blitzer addressed the allegations of Wyclef's inappropriate spending of earthquake donation money to his Yele Haiti foundation. He responded...
"Well, those allegations are not true. The allegations that are true when it comes to the Yele Haiti is the situation of the tax, which wasn't filed on time. My governance was questioned and we brought in an accountant firm from Washington and cleaned up the tax issue. In addition to that, we brought in a new CEO, Derrick Johnson. But did Wyclef Jean every take Yele Haiti money to put in his personal pocket? Never."
Questions about Wyclef's janky financial management didn't end there. The IRS recently announced three tax leans worth $2 million for taxes due as far back as 2006 [read details here]. But he says they've been paid.
"I am living in these United States of America, I have great lawyers, and I have great business people that work with me in the life of Wyclef Jean. There is no situation of Wyclef Jean that we will ignore. We respect the IRS very much. I will not leave these United State of American and come to my country and do not handle the situation with the IRS."
This isn't the first IRS delinquency Wyclef has had. It leaves many wondering if he's capable of managing billion dollar budgets if his own financial management of his foundation and his personal money are constantly making headlines.
"Well, Wolf, God has been good to me and financial problems I do not have. I'm currently on the road. I'm performing. I have great publishing companies. The situation with the IRS was a situation that came up and it is a situation that will be handled. Just to be clear, Wolf, when it comes to is Wyclef OK, is my wife OK, is my financial situation OK, can I continue staying in America, working and making millions of dollars a day? Yes, I can.
But now the mission has changed. I'm 40 years old and I want to focus on helping the people of Haiti."
Right. But, he still never addressed the concern. As an entertainer, Wyclef's work with Shakira and Beyonce made him an international star. That's not counting the accolades collected as 1/3 of the legendary rap group The Fugees, so his wealth has never been questioned. It's managing his own financial responsibilities, prioritizing the urgency of deadlines, hiring qualified staff members to manage his finances that has many questioning him.
Wyclef admitted during this interview that his Yele Haiti Foundation raised $8 million successfully, and yet his organization was under-fire for janky spending. That's a drop in the billion dollar bucket the new elected president of Haiti will be managing on top of carrying the hefty weight of his people's welfare on his back.
Wyclef's Intentions
And another discrepancy appeared during this interview. Wyclef admitted that he currently lives in the United States (Bergen County, New Jersey to be exact) where he and his tandem of professionals unsuccessfully manage his finances, yet candidates are required to live in Haiti for at least five consecutive years. Can one person physically reside in two countries at the same time? How could he really know the struggle of his own people if he's living in one of the richest countries in the world?
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Lots of people, including actor and activist Sean Penn, are skeptical of why Wyclef is really running for president. In the clip below, Penn expresses that Wyclef's run is corporate-influenced.
"I see in Wyclef Jean somebody who could well have been influenced by the promise of support from companies. I think that Haiti is clearly vulnerable to, in particular, the manufacturing concerns that it so desperately needs and the jobs that it so desperately needs. But with a history of American interests coming in and underpaying people. This is a culture of one to two dollars a day that they were making. And we really can't -- if we help with them in fixing this house -- if it had a leak before the earthquake, it doesn't make much sense to rebuild it with a leak again.
"...He said earlier he was helping to move bodies and so on in the first days. That may well have been. And everybody's help was very needed. But his voice has really been most loudly that which allegedly has taken over 400,000 dollars of money that was designated for Haitian relief for himself. He claims he didn't do it. I think that is going to have to be looked into it. "
To say 'Clef's run is backed by corporation is a stretch, but the insecurity in his intention is shared. Wyclef has a lot of explaining to do, and his first order of business before asking people for their money to support his campaign is to figure out a way to solve these discrepancies on his resume.
To watch Wyclef's full CNN 'Larry King Live' interview, CLICK HERE
(NOTE: We're having technicial difficulties getting a player to embedd the full interview on the site, but we do have a link for you to visit. Check back soon )
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