Prime Minister Garry Conille (left) President Michel Martelly (right)
“Today, I take over the reins of a government of renewal and a Haitian rebirth,” trumpeted new Prime Minister Garry Conille as lawmakers crowned him head of government. “By allowing me access to the highest office of the State,” affirmed president Michel Martelly, “The Haitian people have invested their trust in me as the bearer of a national vision based on a rupture.” Following promises to strengthen a government wrapped in Martelly’s aspirations for change, Conille proclaimed, “This paradigm shift will irrigate all the actions of my government.”
On these nuances, the Martelly/Conille duo unwrapped its ideals for the republic of change to usher in a new era focused on free education, the environment, employment, energy and the rule of law. “The nation is tired of waiting and will not accept to be disappointed again,” Martelly told his new team during its swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday October 19, 2011. Cautioning members of the new Cabinet about the steep challenges they faced, he urged each Minister to carry out his or her task effectively. The president also asked the press to allow his Prime Minister the time to address technical issues while referring to him for other exchanges, an attempt for him to remain relevant, some say.
Welcoming the new administration, world leaders threw felicitous flowers on its red carpet in affirmation. A statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Haiti reiterated Washington’s commitment to support the Haitian people and its government through a long-term building of a more stable future, more prosperous and democratic. Didier Le Bret, French ambassador to Haiti, declared the country was ready to welcome investors with a legitimate head of government assuming commands. Similar statements from capitals around the world greeted the newly installed government.
“Democratic institutions have worked and Haiti has a new government,” said Jose Miguel Insulza, secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS), congratulating Martelly, Conille and the parliament on installing a new government. “It is a source of great satisfaction for the Haitian people, as well as the international community,” he added. Meanwhile, the Center for Economic and Policy Research published The Organization of American States in Haiti, a report that seriously questioned OAS’s unprecedented decision to reverse electoral results in the first round of Haiti’s last election. “Our conversation with OAS reinforced the idea that the OAS decision to reverse the results of the election was a political one, rather than an attempt to settle the dispute without prejudice,” concluded the report authored by Economist David Rosnick. Still, Insulza persisted in his congratulatory remarks, “Haitians know that they can count on the ongoing support of the OAS to help them successfully overcome the challenges face by this courageous country.”
With an internationally recognized legitimate interlocutor in place, Haitians hope, as promised, that donors will begin to honor the greater part of their $5.3 billion pledge to help rebuild the country. Prime Minister Conille showed he wasn’t naïve, conceding to the enormity of his role with the expectations and hope placed on his administration’s shoulder, particularly with rampant cholera, hundreds of thousands still displaced in makeshift camps and a country virtually on the ground. However, Conille said he and his team were ready to face the challenges, reiterating, “Together we will implement governmental policies in a constant search for the most appropriate solutions to the problems of Haiti that are multiple, multifaceted and multidimensional.”
