The Americas
Haitian politics
About time
Oct 6th 2011, 15:07 by P.B.
NEARLY five months after Michel Martelly was inaugurated as Haiti’s president, the country may soon have an actual government. After voting down Mr Martelly’s two previous nominees for prime minister, the Senate this week approved the third: Gary Conille, a 45-year-old doctor and UN development expert. Mr Conille’s ratification portends an end to the country’s lame-duck governance, which for over a year has undercut reconstruction efforts and provided foreign donors a convenient excuse for not fulfilling billions of dollars in pledges.
Although both houses of parliament must now approve a plan that Mr Conille said he would present in the next week, this final step is widely considered a formality. The United States embassy and the special representative of the UN secretary-general issued press releases that read like sighs of relief; America’s referred to Mr Conille as the prime minister. Aid agencies were cautiously optimistic. Reconstruction work is hard without reliable government partners, and building the capacity of an absent government is, of course, impossible.
There was no clear single reason for the Senate’s rejection of the president’s two previous nominees. But Mr Martelly’s lack of party loyalists in the legislature certainly played a role, as did his inexperience wooing and negotiating with lawmakers. Haiti’s political system was designed to forestall strongmen, and as such, gives parliament a lot of power. Even the savviest of Haiti’s presidents have had trouble with the legislature. In 2008 René Préval also went through two nominees for prime minister before a third was ratified. During his first term in the late 1990s he spent some time ruling without any parliament at all.
Mr Conille trained as a gynecologist in Haiti, and has worked since 1999 for the UN in countries such as Haiti, Ethiopia and Niger. Recently, he served as chief of staff to Bill Clinton in his role as the UN’s special envoy in Haiti. As prime minister, Mr Conille will be a co-chair of the Interim Haiti Reconstruction Commission alongside his former boss.
Some Haitians worry that, given his prior experience, Mr Conille lacks independence and will prioritise foreigners’ interests over those of Haitians. The UN certainly does provide better job security and pension plans than Haitian politics. But Mr Conille dismissed those worries in a recent interview with the Miami Herald, availing himself of the word, blan, that Haitians use to describe foreigners. “I am not the candidate that the blan is sending back to Haiti. I am the candidate that Haiti strategically put inside the blan to better understand the blan and to come back and help Haiti,” he said. That is a tricky distinction. But in a country whose sovereignty is already compromised, it probably won’t make much of a difference.
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Haiti lost the media spotlight almost as quickly as it gained it. I have heard little about the reconstruction in Haiti in recent months, and I did not know about the "lame-duck government" that hindered reconstruction efforts. It makes me question the millions of dollars donated to the relief efforts and whether the money actually made it to the people in need.
In regards to the Prime Minister nominations, I am happy to see the two previous nominees were voted down. This means care is truly being taken by the senate to ensure that the one who is chosen to be prime minister is truly fit for the job. Conille seems to have good credentials and I wish the country the best.
Though the Haitians are somewhat skeptical of Mr. Conille because of his international affiliations, Haiti will probably be best served to create and maintain some international relationships. If conditions are to improve in Haiti, the country needs a revenue source. Tourism is the main revenue source for most Caribbean countries, and unfortunately Haiti seems to be a long way from becoming an attraction.
I am very happy that Haiti is so close to forming an actual formal government. They are so poor, and they undergo so much disease that they really need this. Conille is hopefully going to be good for the country, and maybe even revive them faster than we think. This is great news!
This is definitely a huge step in the building process of Haiti. No country can function with any type of structured government. With the senate approving Gary Conille for Prime Minister President Martelly's government is beginning to look a lot more structured. Rebuilding Haiti is going to take a lot of time and quite amount of effort. Now with a government starting to take shape the process will speed up a little faster. If Conille can avoid taking more interest in his foreign interest more than Haiti things will be looking good.
If Haiti is going to elect a President and have some form of a government then they should let the president have power and treat him with respect. If they didn't think he was experienced enough to become president then they never should have elected him in the first place. The parliament should let the president do his job a little more and they should worry about their own jobs and trust in the president.
Haiti might actually have an actual government after Michael Martell was inaugurated. It is about time for Haiti’s government to step up. Haiti is the one of the poorest countries, and a lot of people went through poverty, diseases and natural disasters. I hope the new form of government works for their citizens then country would improve better and better. A lot of people in Haiti are waiting for the new government to have better life. It might take a longer to have new type of government, but it is so exciting to hear that Haiti is moving forward!
After a whopping five months, Haiti finally has a government again. Lucky number three candidate was able to take position of Prime Minister. He is a doctor and UN development expert. Most gynocologists don't take the job that Gary Conille has, which I find interesting. Many Haitians are worried about him too. They believe that he lacks independence and will prioritize foreigners interests over their own. They hold these beliefs due to his experience. However, Mr. Conille denies all accusations and assures he will prioritize domestic affairs.
It is very pleasing to know that Haiti is doing very well. The devastating earthquake that hit Haiti some time ago and the subsequent aid that was sent was the last that many people heard of Haiti. This shows how they are recovering from it and rebuilding their country.
It's about time now that Haiti has established a stable government. The sooner they can all work together and the their government on track the sooner they can start to rebuild and make it the place it us to be. As for Mr. Conille any new change can be helpful even tho there is some people question his leadership for his position but his background fits the position and hopefully he can pull Haiti not of this nightmare.
Im honestly glad that Haiti seems to be trying to get themselves on track by getting a president and starting a government. They are poor and have many problems including poverty and disease following the earthquake that now that they are starting to get things in order, I think they are moving towards a better future
Historically, Haiti is a country of poverty, war, and famine. Thus, as their situation grows worse everyday some form of structured government is definitely needed. Even though some Haitians believe that Mr. Conille lacks experience to be their Prime Minister, I think that an optimistic and intelligent Prime Minister is better than no Prime Minister in general. In addition, I think that his former position with the UN will make Conille an asset in rebuilding Haiti. However, such restructuring and growth will be a slow process. It will be interesting to see if Cornille will help guide Haiti to a better future or just add to the list of names that have let the country fail in the past. In addition, Haiti needs to realize that one man, alone, cannot change their country. Instead the Haitian people must urge their President, Prime Minister, and parliamentary bodies to work together in order to save Haiti as a whole. However, this appointment is a step in the right direction!
Hopefully this is finally the turn around that Haiti needs. The beginning of a new government sounds promising, but we will have to wait and see if these new leaders can take the country everywhere. I'm not sure they have the experience to fix such a weakened country, but it's definitely better than nothing. I don't think that any kind of medical background will help aid this country. Let's hope their UN ties do.
While it is absolutely a great thing that finally some government is getting established in Haiti, I'm still wary for the country. The fact that the article cites a previous leader's identical problem of having two nominee's voted down does not speak of progress at all, it speaks of a stagnate government. Whatever the situation is in Haiti, they still have plenty of room for progress. I would urge them not to relish this victory too long and definitely not to settle in at all. Keep your eyes on the future Mr. Conille.
This is a big step in the right direction for Haiti, however, they cannot afford to move slowly. They need to hurry up the process and establish a working government as soon as they can. They already have people in the positions needed; they just need the structure. The people in Haiti desperately need leadership because they are suffering. This change will help them though, which is very good.
It is very good news that Haiti is finally forming a government. Things are looking up for Haiti. The government should obviously look for someone who is qualified for the Prime Minster position but they should not make it such a long process. Haiti needs a Prime Minster appointed now so new policies can be quickly put in place. It is too early to tell whether or now Mr. Conille will be the right appointee as Prime Minster, but with his background (working in the UN since 199 and working as a part of the Clinton administration) he seems very fit for the job. Under President Michel Martelly and Mr. Conille, hopefully these two leaders will be able to move Haiti in the right direction in setting up a stable government.
Hatians are simply remarkable. Yes, they have one of the worst off economies on the face of the earth - however these people have come through a catastrophic event and have made do. Like khmTzic3YT put it, they would make a middle of the road African nation which in this day and age have the ability to prosper. With a new established government, we can understand that the future of Haiti is entirely undetermined. The proximity to the United States and the help of other close proximity nations will aid in the country's revival. We shall see the short term outcome - but my money is on Haiti's slow recovery and establishment in the new world.
Hatians are simply remarkable. Yes, they have one of the worst off economies on the face of the earth - however these people have come through a catastrophic event and have made do. Like khmTzic3YT put it, they would make a middle of the road African nation which in this day and age have the ability to prosper. With a new established government, we can understand that the future of Haiti is entirely undetermined. The proximity to the United States and the help of other close proximity nations will aid in the country's revival. We shall see the short term outcome - but my money is on Haiti's slow recovery and establishment in the new world.
Haiti needs/deserves a fresh start. This country has had the hardest of years, preceded by many difficult years. Poverty is a huge problem, worsened by a terrible earthquake. Though Parliament is having a difficult time deciding- I think it is because they are so worried about the fragile state of Haiti. Hopefully, this meticulous decision making process will prove to be successful and worth. New leadership will get tthis country headed in a different direction and hopefully things can only go up.
I think that the title of this article is very misleading as some might suspect without reading it that a new change in leadership will be very beneficial to Haiti. Haiti has gone through many leaders due to turmoil and instability of its economy, relationships amongst different ethnic groups, etc. They are right to be skeptical of a new leader being too open to foreigners simply because Haiti has suffered at the hands of many foreign countries such as France and the U.S. who have depleted this country's resources. In addition, previous leader such as Papa Doc were also very damaging to this country and hording all the money which should have been spent on infrastructure. Haiti has been ruined by internal and external forces and unfortunately I am not optimistic about the situation.
@KhmTzic3YT:
It is difficult to understand your gross generalizations about Haiti. You can perhaps explain to readers here where you get these outrageous claims you make about the Haitian people. Claims about leadership characteristics, AIDS epidemic, misplaced in the world and the like. These categorizations seem baseless and ignorant. You seem to imply, like many of your ancestors before you, that certain people belong in certain places while others should be eliminated. Please shed some light for me because I refuse to believe that people still think and talk like this even with recorded history, the Internet and scientific marvels. Perhaps it would help if you had real opinions rather than copying and pasting the same comment to every article written about Haiti.
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