PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (defend.ht) – $26 million [US] of the “Fund National pour l’Education” (FNE) are unaccounted for. The Bank of the Republic of Haiti (BRH) reported only $2 million in the fund’s account with no withdrawals on its record.

According to an article published in Le Matin on October 14, 2011, the Senate Committee on Finance and Economy inquired about the FNE with the Governing Board of the BRH which was tasked with managing the fund.

After meeting with the Governor of the Bank, continued the article, quoting BRH Governor Charles Castel, Jocelerme Privert reported to the Senate that “only $2 million [of the money] have been deposited at the BRH and no withdrawal has been made from this amount.”

The money for the FNE comes from a $1.50 tax levied on money transfers to Haiti and an additional $0.05 per minute on all calls made to, within and out of Haiti. The article quoted Jocelerme Privert saying “….[T]here is no information available on these funds, …according to the BRH, it is Conatel that holds these funds… [A]ll resources are public resources, even when there was no law ordering their levy. Consequently, they can not be managed outside of the law on the budget and public accounting.”

Last month, continued the article, Gaston Merisier, the designated Minister of Education and Professional Training, and a close friend of President Martelly, announced that more than $ 28 million had already been collected on behalf of the FNE. Therefore, according to Privert, that leaves $26 million for which the Senate is expecting an accounting. “We need to know where the money comes from, how it was used and where it is being held,” Le Matin quoted him saying.