PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) – The Multinational Security Support Mission to Haiti (MSS) has denied international media reports that some of its officers have gone months without pay.
In a statement, the MSS said it “categorically refutes” the reports that officers had not been paid for three months.
“All MSS personnel have received their salaries, including monthly allowances, and no MSS officer has tendered their resignation as alleged.”
“MSS officers remain highly motivated and fully committed to supporting the Haitian National Police [HNP] in conducting decisive operations aimed at dismantling gang networks and restoring stability,” the statement said.
The announcement comes on the heels of a denial by the UN-sanctioned, Kenya-led MSS and the Haitian National Police (PNH) that they are not working in police operations against armed gangs.
The PNH and the MSS say that they always plan and conduct police operations jointly on the ground, according to the mandate of the MSS Mission, which aims to support the HHP in seeking to restore security in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country where the criminal gangs have been seeking to overthrow the government.
In addition, the allegations that Kenyan police officers accuse their PNH counterparts of colluding with gangs, which sometimes weakens operations, the PNH and the MSS say they are urging the population not to be taken aback by this false information that only aims to discredit the work of the two police forces for the benefit of criminal and terrorist gangs.
The Haitian National Police and the MSS, as well as all their troops, work harmoniously, cooperate, and coordinate very well as two professional forces to ensure that the Haitian people enjoy peace, the two bodies insist, adding that the propaganda that is being orchestrated will not distract their attention in the fight against gangs.
The UN estimates as much as 85 percent of the capital of Port-au-Prince has fallen under gang control and that more than 700,000 people are displaced across Haiti as a result of the violence.
Last week, an international media outlet reported that nearly 20 Kenyan officers have resigned from the MSS over delays in pay and poor working conditions, citing three sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In its statement, MSS said that the news agency in question did not contact the mission for comment before publication even as the news agency says it stands by its story.
In response to the lack of funding, there are efforts to have the UN launch a peacekeeping mission in Haiti, where the security situation has worsened since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Last week, the United Nations said that of the US$674 million Humanitarian Response Plan for Haiti, only US$290 million has been received.