Garry Conille
On Tuesday, Haiti’s Transitional Council announced that it had selected development specialist Garry Conille as the country’s new interim prime minister, just about a month after their appointment of Fritz Bélizaire to the role.
Mr. Bélizaire’s appointment was met with anger by many, who said that the council abandoned the procedures outlined in its own establishing framework in the selection of Mr. Bélizaire. Following the critique, the process was started anew, resulting in Mr. Conille interim prime minister in Mr. Bélizaire’s stead.
Mr. Conille, who until his appointment last evening was serving as the regional director for the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF, is no stranger to the post of prime minister. He served for just over half a year as then-President Michel Martelly between October 2011 and May 2012, before he resigned over an investigation into government officials who hold dual nationality - not allowed under the country’s constitution.
Mr. Conille assumes the prime ministership at a time when violence from armed groups is surging, and state forces are struggling to deal with the onslaught. He must immediately turn his attention to the now-delayed deployment of a Kenya-led security force meant to enhance the capacity and capabilities of the Haitian National Police. The mission, which was set to deploy this week, has been pushed back by at least three weeks after an advance team from Kenya reported that needed bases were still being built, and resources including equipment had not yet been made available ahead of the scheduled arrival of the 200-odd law enforcement personnel.
In addition to stabilizing Haiti’s degraded security situation, Mr. Conille must also strive to restore the country’s economy, wracked by eye-watering inflation and crippled by the paralysis of internal trade routes, caused by the control of these routes exerted by varying armed groups.
The Montana Accord, one civil society organization with representation on the transitional council, has criticized the council for its slow progress in the face of Haiti’s ever-worsening crisis. The leadership group lacked transparency in its selection process for prime minister, the Montana Accord alleges. The transitional council is also not taking any “consequential steps” towards stabilizing Haiti, the Montana Group says, even as “the suffering of the people is getting worse, while the gangs are taking control of more territory and committing more crimes.”
Mr. Conille has not yet made any public statements following news of his appointment, however UNICEF confirmed that he would be stepping down as the agency’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean.
