Haiti’s security forces are getting an additional $33.46 million this year to take on the country’s armed gangs, whose escalating attacks have left communities decimated, police stations in flames and nearly half of the population going hungry.

But the increase, announced as part of a revision to the country’s current annual budget, is coming under criticism from political figures and at least one economist because very little of the funding is coming from new revenue. Instead, they money in what the government is labeling a “war budget” is being shifted from other priorities, such as the cleaning of canals in flood-prone communities and agriculture investments, while the government has shown no willingness to reduce its own spending.

“This budget isn’t going to make any difference,” said Clarens Renois, a former journalist and head of the Union Nationale pour l’Intégrité et la Réconciliation party, who says the country’s ruling Transitional Presidential Council is keeping its hefty pay. “If you have a war budget, the first thing you would like to see is the council making the sacrifice and reducing their own salaries. You don’t see any reductions.”

The council, which has been criticized for using intelligence money to fund its salaries in the amended 2024-25 budget, which began on Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30. Aimed at tackling armed gangs and the worsening humanitarian crisis, it described making “a strategic distribution” of $277 million to support the national police and Armed Forces of Haiti. It “reflects the firm will of the State to act decisively on the security, humanitarian and institutional fronts,” the ruling panel said in a statement.

Before Monday’s amended budget was approved by the council of ministers, Haiti’s overall budget was 323.445 billion Haitian gourdes — or $2,488,038,461 in U.S. dollars — for an estimated 12 million people. After the decision was made to increase spending on anti-gang efforts, the new budget was approved at 323.451 billion gourdes, or $2,488,084,615.

The difference between the old budget and the new one amounts to an additional $45,831 — a minuscule boost for a nation not only reeling from uncontrolled gang violence but its fallout, which is being felt in the capital of Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas.

Gangs are carrying out deadly attacks that have left more than 1,000 people dead since the beginning of the year and are taking over communities in the capital and areas in other regions of Haiti. On Monday, as the new spending plan was being rolled out, a gang leader circulated a video showing him destroying a police station in the town of Mirebalais, northeast of Port-au-Prince. Mirebalais and the town of Saut’d’Eau in central Haiti are the latest to come under the control of members of the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition.

More money for police, army

Spending for the Haiti National Police in the revised budget will now be boosted to $253.85 million, a 10% increase. The Armed Forces of Haiti will see a 20% funding increase to $64.43 million.

The amounts, however, are still a pittance compared to what is needed for equipment, weapons or to even replace the dozens of police stations that have been destroyed by gangs.

None of the funds will go toward the Kenya-led Multinational Security Support mission, which is financed through voluntary contributions to a United Nations trust fund. The mission received over $629 million from the United States under the Biden administration last year to fund its operations, which included $400 million to operate a base.

Another winner in the budget changes will be social programs focused on education and humanitarian assistance. The funding will increase from $639.2 million to $688.4 million.

Some critics say it’s not enough, considering more than a million people are homeless and living in soiled encampments that don’t even have latrines or access to drinking water, and thousands are being deported each month from the neighboring Dominican Republic.

There is also concern that the revised budget will mean less money for food production and public works, which though not a priority in the capital are vital necessities in rural communities where torrential rains this week pose the risk of landslides and deaths.

“When you are pulling money out of public works and agriculture to put in social programs. and security it may not seem like a bad thing, but in the mid-term and long-term you are going to pay for it because you’re going to get less infrastructure, and you are going to get less food production,” said Kesner Pharel, an economist who lives in Port-au-Prince.

Pharel said his analysis shows that while there are significant budget increases for the security forces, he doesn’t see anything in the amended changes to promote growth to continue paying for the funding. Also, the government is paying for the changes by going deeper into debt, borrowing from treasury bonds.

“We need a war budget to fight poverty and extreme poverty. We don’t need a war budget to be feeding into institutions like the army and the police that cannot perform,” Pharel said. “We are losing plenty of territories, we are losing police stations, we are losing almost everything. They’ve increased the security budget for the last five years, but what have been the results? What is the performance, beside losing more territories every day?”

The government and nine-member transitional presidential council, he said, “are trying to see how they can solve a short-term problem” by doing business as usual.

“The first thing to do is to change the structure of the government. You can’t have the same structure like, the same number of ministries,” Pharel said. “You have too many ministries, you have too many people, too many organizations. They’re spending money like hell.”

One example is the 3.5 billion gourdes, or $26.9 million, in the budget for Parliament. Haiti hasn’t had a parliament since the last 10 senators left office in 2022 and its building is currently in a no-go zone that’s been overtaken by armed groups.

“Where are the employees? Who are you paying for? What are they doing?” Pharel said.

Renois said Haiti’s exploding gang phenomenon isn’t just about armed groups exacting violence on the population, but about the inequality and grinding poverty in communities that have been abandoned by the government.

“To make a difference you would need to have a budget that allows the police and the army to hire more people, and they would need equipment. From what I see, there aren’t enough provisions here for that,” Renois said. “It’s clear there is no political will to change the situation.”

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