Haiti - Education : Update on the National Fund for Education
The National Council of Telecommunications (CONATEL), by sake of transparency, reported that under the National Fund for Education (FNE), he had already collected for the period from 15 June 2011 to 14 December 2012, an amount of 36,541,608.79 U.S. dollars, from phone companies. These contributions come from the surplus tariff on incoming calls in the country [0.5 cents per call]. Thus, CONATEL received: 4,800,634.66 dollars from Comcel, 31,440,041.38 dollars from Digicel and 300,932.75 dollars from Natcom. Recall that these levies, collected, in consultation with the partners of the telephony, are intended to finance the school compulsory and free for the poorest in Haiti.
In addition, the Council states that a sum of U.S. $ 4,637,246.84, remains to receive, 159,538.45 dollars from Comcel, 4,271,349.29 dollars from Digicel and 206,359.10 dollars from Natcom.
Note that these 36.5 million dollars, do not include the fees of $1.50 U.S. dollars, on incoming and outgoing transfers, which are collected by the Central Bank under the FNE. In August 2012, these transfer fee collected by the Central Bank amounted to $ 1.9 billion Gourdes [± U.S. $ 45,238,095].
Finally, it is important to note, that the Parliament, after more of 18 months, [the FNE has been launched by the President Martelly in May 2011], has not yet ratified the Bill allowing the FNE to use these funds for education. In the absence of this vote and the publication of the law in the official newspaper "Le Moniteur", these funds can not be used by the Government, nor benefit to the education of Haitian children...
