Wyclef Jean counters claims. Sort of.

Wyclef Jean has broken into his work in Haiti to talk about the claims that Yele Haiti might be murky round the edges:



It's heartfelt but doesn't go anywhere near explaining why Yele Haiti spent a quarter of a million dollars buying advertising airtime on a TV station in Haiti in which Jean has a controlling interest in.

XXL magazine has run a statement from the charity's president Hugh Locke explaining why there aren't full tax records:

“Yele Haiti, originally called the Wyclef Jean Foundation, filed a tax return in 2000 and then suspended activities until 2005 and so was not required by law to file a tax return until it resumed operation,” Locke explained.

That seems fair enough. Locke also expresses disappointment that the organisation is having to divert resources at this time of emergency to deal with the allegation - although if that is a sum greater or lesser than the amount being redirected to hire space in a studio building co-owned by Jean isn't clear.

I don't think anyone doubts Jean's commitment to doing the right thing for Haiti, and there are plenty of NGOs who are happy to work with Yele Haiti to get aid where it's needed. That should be good enough, for now. But perhaps - in a few months, when things are calmer - Jean might want to think about reorganising Yele Haiti's affairs in a way which doesn't require him to keep using the charity's money to purchase services from his for-profit companies. Just to keep things out of the murk.