Wyclef will run in the election to be held on November 28, 2010..
“My whole country, my whole life since I was a kid, the country has had political turmoil,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
“The reason why is that there has never been one person who can unite all parties and get them to work together.”
Wyclef was born in Haiti, moving to the US as a child. He was instrumental in raising money for aid in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January this year with his charity, the Yele Haiti Foundation.
It is the first time Wyclef has publicly confirmed his intentions, after being dogged by rumours he would stand for president for years.
He says he has the connections to help bring international support to his homeland and tells the Wall Street Journal the Haitian people are behind his candidacy.
“I always say that Wyclef Jean is not running for the presidency of Haiti, I’m being drafted by the people of Haiti,” he said.
Overcoming Haiti’s Many Problems
Wyclef estimates it will take 25-30 years to rebuild Haiti, “but there are issues we can start tackling now”.
“The education, the literacy problem, the job creation problem, the agricultural component. The idea that if everything is being imported how do we get our export back. National production. These are some of the things that I feel we can start tackling,” he says.
“When I say job creation; the infrastructure, the reconstruction of Haiti, should not only [involve] international contractors, but there should be local Haitian contractors too.”
After denying accusations of misusing funds from his charity, Wyclef pledged to be more vigilant in his charity work.
"I'm not a politician," he said. "What I'm going to do is be a leader of the youth of Haiti, and the people of Haiti. And the way I'm going to do that is put the right team around me that knows how to govern."
A Haiti Best Served
It is not yet known whether Wyclef’s popularity as a musician will translate into popularity in the Haitian polls.
He made his career outside of Haiti and will be considered an outsider among Haiti’s traditional political elite, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Wyclef rose to fame as a member of the rap trio The Fugees in the 90s and says he has been “singing about this” his entire life.
“The idea is to not just shame, but turn it into policy and really engage in another manner,” he says.
“After [the Haiti quake], I felt there would be a new beginning and the international would be more involved, America would be more involved, and I call myself more connected. I’m someone who can connect the parties together and basically be a leader for the youth for what they’ve been crying for for years.”
Angela Beswick - An Auckland-based journalist, currently working in online news for a television network.
