Overview:
Motorcycle-taxi drivers in Port-de-Paix, the capital city of the Northwest Department, are striking over an alleged $38 registration fee, accusing the mayor of corruption and neglect as protests halt daily life. Authorities say the allegations are false—the measure, which aims to control motor-taxi transport and prevent gang members from infiltrating the coastal town, will involve no fee imposed on drivers. Still, drivers disagree and are calling for the longtime mayor Josué Alusma to resign.
PORT-DE-PAIX— A rumor that the city’s mayor planned to charge motorcycle taxi drivers a 5,000-gourde or about $38 registration fee for a new identification vest has continued to ignite protests across Port-de-Paix, shutting down schools, markets and public offices in the coastal city. Though the mayor insists no fee will be charged, drivers say they don’t believe him — and the standoff has now escalated into a wider revolt against what they call a decade of corruption, neglect and mismanagement at the municipal level.
The unrest highlights the fragile trust between municipal authorities and residents as public services have deteriorated and motorcycles — or moto-taxis — have become the most essential mode of transportation.
City officials frame the vest requirement as a security measure designed to prevent gang members from posing as moto-taxi operators. But drivers view it as one more attempt by Mayor Josué Alusma, in power for 10 years, to extract money from workers already struggling to survive.
“The municipality took this decision to distinguish [legitimate] motorcycle taxi drivers from criminal gang members currently operating in Port-de-Paix.”
Mayor Josué Alusma
The result is a city brought to a standstill: drivers have parked their motorcycles across intersections, blocking major arteries with burning tires, and marching through the streets calling for Alusma’s resignation. With no intervention from national authorities, the paralysis has intensified daily life, leaving students, teachers and other workers stranded in a department already hit hard by rising insecurity and weak governance.
“This city is filthy; garbage piles up everywhere and the canals are blocked,” said Johnny Noël, a moto-taxi driver.
“Instead of focusing on the real problems, the mayor is persecuting the hard workers who keep this city functioning.”
The municipal council, led by decade-long Mayor Alusma, said the measure, which does not yet have an effective date, will help authorities distinguish legitimate drivers from gang members posing as moto-taxis to commit robberies and kidnappings.
But drivers have accused the mayor of hiding behind “security” to impose a fee they see as a cash grab, reflecting deeper grievances over what residents describe as a decade of corruption, neglect and mismanagement at City Hall. Some drivers also accuse Alusma of using public funds for political projects instead of sanitation, urban planning and support for vulnerable families.
Moto-taxi drivers block a street in Port-de-Paix to stop vehicles from passing on Tuesday, November 25, 2025. Photo by Kervenson Martial/The Haitian Times
“Mayor Alusma has failed. Ten years straight under his management, Port-de-Paix is still one of the dirtiest cities in Haiti,” said 37-year-old Wilson Édouard. “He must go.”
Facing mounting backlash, Alusma denied claims that the city plans to charge drivers $38 for the vest and blamed the outcry on misinformation spread by political opponents.
He insists the identification system is a security measure aimed at addressing a surge in attacks by armed groups using unregistered motorcycles.
“The municipality took this decision to distinguish motorcycle taxi drivers from criminal groups currently operating in Port-de-Paix,” the mayor said in a video posted on social media. He denied that the ID vest would cost drivers $38, and said the City Hall has the funding needed to implement the measure.
“It’s all about the regularization of this mode of transportation, safety and security within the city. We can’t accept a system outside of the lay,” Alusma said.
In addition to the $38 registration fee, several moto-taxi drivers claimed there will also be a required monthly tax of about $8 (1000 gourdes). Alusma has disputed reports of a planned monthly tax as well, stating that the vest fee and tax fee claims are based on “false allegations and political sabotage.”
However, a formal video statement from the Mayor’s Office outlines how the funds from the proposed vest measure would be allocated. According to the video statement, the initiative is intended to:
- Strengthen public safety.
- Regulate motorcycle circulation.
- Help authorities identify drivers.
Residents say City Hall ignores urgent needs
For many residents, the registration dispute is only the latest sign of a municipal administration failing to address urgent issues like mounting garbage, overflowing canals, deteriorating street conditions and lack fo social support.
“We’re not thieves—we’re trying to earn an honest living,” a protester who chose to stay anonymous shouted. “Mayor Alusma, leave us alone. Clean the city and let us work.”
Despite the strike’s impact, neither the central government nor the Ministry of the Interior has intervened, mirroring the national paralysis that has allowed insecurity and local disputes to intensify across the country.
Burning tires line streets in Port-de-Paix on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, as motorcycle taxi drivers protest Mayor Josué Alusma’s plan to require registration and identification vests — a measure authorities say is intended to improve security amid rising gang threats. Video by Kervenson Martial/The Haitian Times.
Residents warn that the crisis will worsen unless the mayor withdraws the measure or national authorities mediate.
With the transportation system crippled and trust in local authorities at a historic low, Port-de-Paix remains on edge — caught between a government insisting it is acting for public safety and a workforce that sees the measure as just another burden imposed by officials who have failed to address the city’s most basic needs.
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