ARTICLE - CONCERNS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY

CRITICISMS AND CONCERNS OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY
(Haiti Libre) -

In a joint statement, 14 civil society organizations (1) expressed their deep concern facing a social, political and economic situation, which degrades every day; due to a lack of governance and leadership from the current leaders of the country.

"...One hundred days after the installation of a new President, the Executive and Legislature have failed to reach a political compromise to set up a government and begin to provide a solution to serious social and economic problems faced by the country: stagnation of the reconstruction and of the relocation of people living in tents, resurgence of insecurity, vulnerability of the population facing the threat of natural disasters, increased economic regression, persistence of extreme poverty, incapacity and uncertainty of the vast majority of parents for the requirements of the school year. So far, no clear and transparent mechanism has been presented to the public on the facilities for free and compulsory schooling.

The President of the Republic, guarantor of proper functioning of institutions under the Constitution, instead of traveling in travels that have hypothetical impact, should focus primarily on the negotiations with the Parliament, to choose a Prime Minister and on the dialogue with the economic and social forces of the country, to promote growth, create trust, and implement, in a effective and harmonious way, the actions on the major issues of the nation. What the country expects as a priority of the Head of State is the formation of a government, the promulgation of the amended Constitution, the installation of the High Council of the Judiciary and the Permanent Electoral Council, the appointment of additional judges to the Court of Cassation, the elections in November to renew a third of the Senate and of the Territorial collectivities. Most of these responsibilities could have been assumed even in the absence of a government. We will judge his performance on that. From this point of view, the first hundred days are far from being a success. The president must prevent the country being bogged down in political and institutional crisis, which will only aggravate a social and economic situation already very precarious."

These organizations recommend to the parliamentarians "to show restraint, discernment and patriotism in the exercise of their power and to remember that as co-custodians of the national sovereignty, they will also be co-responsible for a national fiasco" and invites the Head of State, Senators and Deputies "to go to the negotiating table, as responsible men and women responsible, for providing the country with a government, facilitate the promulgation of the amended Constitution, consolidate the republican institutions and respect the constitutional electoral deadlines."

(1) Initiative de la Société Civile : (ISC) - Organisation des Patriotes pour Haïti (OPA) -Conseil National des Acteurs Non Etatiques (CONHANE) - Centre Œcuménique des Droits Humains (CEDH) - Centre d'Education, de Recherches et d'Actions en Sciences Sociales et Pénales (CERESS) - Mouvman Fanm Kafou (MOFKA) - Grand Front National des Etudiants Haïtiens (GRAFNEH) - Centre Haïtien de Promotion Sociale (CHAPS) - Centre d'Analyse et de Recherche en Droits de l'Homme (CARDH) - HIBC Développement - Action Citoyenne (AC) - Haïti Observation Electorale (HOE) - Centre pour la Promotion des Droits Humains et le Renforcement de la Démocratie en Haïti. (CEPRODH) - Office de Concertation pour le Développement (OCODE)