COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF MAY 30, 2012
(Haiti Libre) -
Wednesday, President Michel Martelly, assisted by the Prime Minister, Laurent Lamothe and members of the Cabinet, has organized the second Council of Ministers of the new Martelly-Lamothe Government. The Council's work began (for the public) at 5:00 pm and ended behind closed doors at 2:00 am.
During the 2nd Council of Ministers, the main priority files were discussed; including the fight against corruption, decentralization, smuggling, the declaration of assets, public safety, cleaning of rivers in preparation for the hurricane season, the strategic plan for agriculture and the peasantry, the Petro-Caribe fund, welfare, and the recent achievements of the Ministry of Communication...
In opening, the Head of State welcomed the cohesion that exists within the government team, describing it as a "Great harmony", which according to him "communicate every day, and at any hour of the night..."
The President presented the departmental delegates to the new Cabinet and related to them the maintenance of the unity in decision-making centers, stating that the administration is at the service of the citizens. "The delegate has a political role, but does not make politics self-centered. He must know everything to accompany the Ministers, and cannot be in competition with the decentralized services. He can not blame the public services that he defends, he must be careful..."
He then invited Colonel Antoine Atouriste, Director General of the Unit for Combating Corruption (ULCC) to speak. In a brief statement, the CEO of the ULCC noted that criminals are well organized, while the brigades of government operate in a dispersed manner. According to him, the ULCC needs intensive controls throughout the territory. He indicated that currently, more than 130 corruption cases were identified, of which 16 have already been transferred to the Prosecutor for appropriate action. For his part, the Prime Minister has indicated a desire to remove Haiti from the list of the 8 most corrupt countries in the world, using all legal measures to deter corruption. He wishes to establish an observatory for control of State expenditures and requires that all great servants of the State make declarations of assets on June 15 at the latest, in order to increase the points in favor of Haiti.
Concerning the increase in state revenues, Mr. Fresnel Jean Baptiste, the new Director General of Customs, has promised to President Martelly and the Prime Minister to increase revenues by the end of the fiscal year, by shortening clearance times, and capturing insecure revenue, mainly on the 350 km of borders, by tracking down smugglers. However, he acknowledges a lack of resources and structures at the concerned sites of Customs. He intends to establish audit services and tools such Cydonia in order to control customs information. He indicated that the estimated revenues of 22 billion gourdes, will exceed 24 billion with the new measures in the next 4 months. He intends to combat tax evasion and create a Directorate, which will deal with the NGOs, of which only 400 are recorded of 10,000.
During this Council of Ministers, it was recalled that since 1978, tax reforms have been undertaken, but they were never institutionalized. He stressed again that the DGI has a problem of internal audits and the tax clearance controls only 1,500 of over 100,000 businesses in the country...
Entering into the substance of government actions, President Martelly asked each Minister to present their record of the last two weeks, and the Chronograms of activities, starting with Mr. Lamothe, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Laurent Lamothe said that he had reiterated Haiti's relations with international partners, and revitalized Business Diplomacy and Development. He confirmed the appointment of five new Ambassados, ...., and his participation in the 42th summit of the OAS in Bolivia. Mr. Lamothe has emphasized the integration of Haiti in the CELAC, the African Union, Caricom and the Ibero American Summit. He finally mentioned renovation works in the embassies, especially in Washington.
The Minister of Justice, Jean Renel Sanon then took the floor, to state his instructions passed on to security forces to maintain security in the country. He has pointed his finger on offenders who are trying to make forced expropriations and cases of medical-legal investigations on 400 bodies piled up in morgues for months, that can not be buried. He promises to act on this last point.
The Minister of Agriculture, Thomas Jacques announced the dredging of the river Quinte to prevent damage in the event of possible flooding in the Artibonite.
The Minister of Planning, Ms. Josefa Gauthier presented a set of plans to build markets, sports centers, office complexes, crafts, bus stations etc... and of streetlights, while asking the Ministers to submit projects for funding.
The Minister to the Peasantry, Ms. Marie Mimose Felix, has announced plans to recapitalize the rural areas, improve habitats and strengthen peasant production capacity.
The Minister for Women and the Rights of Women, Ms. Yanick Mézil announced a package of measures against various forms of gender violence.
The Minister of Culture, Mr. Mario Dupuy drew lines of programs relating to cultural activities, the rehabilitation of the Rex Théâtre and the Ciné Triomphe. He spoke also of the Carnival of Flowers and the "Été sur scène et sur écran," an event to be held in Port-au-Prince, and 30 provincial cities for a real support of young people. The Minister also promised to develop the site of the Memorial of Saint Christopher, and prepare a draft of laws governing independent bodies, and to put in place departmental directorates and Arts Councils, between July and December 2012.
The Finance Minister, Ms. Marie Carmelle Jean Marie, summarized her actions in brief: Modernizing the Treasury and Public Accounting; transform this Directorate into a Directorate General of Treasury, prepare a new population census; compile a directory of NGOs, and improve public financial management.
The Minister of Extreme Poverty, Ms. Rose Anne Auguste spoke highly of the "Ti Manman Cherie" program, and announced the creation of 4 community houses called "kay pep la". She plans to use public waste for 20 compost sites, and improve trestles selling fruit and vegetables.
The Minister of Education, Réginald Paul discussed an operational plan, taking into account a mass literacy.
The Minister of Social Affairs, Ronsard St-Cyr has promised the construction of the West regional office West from June 2, and an awareness campaign for the week of the child.
The Environment Minister Ronald Toussaint announced plans to demolish hundreds of homes in the area of Morne l'Hôpital. This idea was supported in Council, by Me Thierry Mayard Paul, Minister of Interior, who invited the Director of Civil Protection, Mrs. Alta Jean Baptiste to talk about the ongoing operations for the protections against the risks of a major natural event. Thus, we learned that there are 3,041 volunteers, 174 local committees and 100 brigades working with the Red Cross.
The Minister of Public Works, Jacques Rousseau, was questioned for a long time at the Council of Ministers on various urban renewal projects in Jacmel; the Jacmel market, fish market, the clearing of the ouyone, the renovation of St. Marc, etc...
The Minister of Communication, Ady Jean Gardy presented a progress report on his accomplishments and projects including: ongoing repair of the transmitters of the TNH to Vigie and Bijou in the North, and transmitters of Delpeche for the National Radio, the signing of a MoU for life insurance and health for journalists of the state and private media, preparation of an organic law for the Ministry of Communication and two new draft laws for RTNH and the National Press for online procedures, the obtention of an agreement for the use of Satellite International LEO 2 and Satellite Simon Bolivar of Latin America, to broadcast programs of Communication of Haiti throughout the world within the framework of cooperation with Telesur.
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