The new cabinet totally replaces all of the ministers from the administration of previous Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was forced to resign earlier this year by gangs that dominate major portions of Haiti.
The new cabinet was announced two weeks after the country’s transitional government council named Garry Conille as interim prime minister.
He will also serve as interior minister, according to a proclamation issued in Haiti’s official gazette.
The establishment of a government in Haiti is another evidence of efforts to restore political stability to a country plagued by violence and uncertainty for several months.
A spokesman acknowledged that the interim council nominated persons to all major cabinet positions and their respective ministries.
Mr. Conille’s attorney, Carlos Hercules, will be the minister of justice and public security, while Dominique Dupuy, Haiti’s ambassador to Unesco, will be the foreign affairs minister.
Ketleen Florestal, a Princeton graduate, takes over the finance ministry from Michel Patrick Boisvert, who previously served as temporary Prime Minister this year.
While some Haitians may be pleased by these early gestures toward normalcy, particularly given the recent reopening of the country’s international airport, others are genuinely concerned about the magnitude of the work ahead of the new administration.
Gangs still dominate the majority of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and gang bosses refuse to recognize the interim council or any of the transitional officials.
Last year, a UN-backed security team commanded by Kenya was pledged to help beleaguered Haitian police, but it has yet to be deployed.
A planned deployment of about 1,000 Kenyan police personnel to restore order has failed to materialise, but Kenyan President William Ruto did express his support for the idea in an interview with the BBC last month.
Mr Henry agreed to leave down in March after armed groups prevented his return from Kenya, where he had met with President Ruto.
Gangs took advantage of the political vacuum created by the prime minister’s departure and increased their influence over large areas of the country, which has virtually become lawless in certain parts.
The UN called the situation in Haiti as “cataclysmic” in a report released last month.
It said that more than 1,500 people have been murdered and 800 wounded in the first three months of 2024.
The investigation revealed the gangs’ “harrowing practices,” which are accused of punishing and controlling members via excessive violence and sexual assault.
Aid organizations have reported difficulty in delivering food and water to the city, warning that millions are starving, with some on the edge of starvation.
The killing of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 exacerbated Haiti’s issues. Gangs have increased their dominance over the country, displacing thousands of residents.
The country has had no president since the killing, and there is no sitting parliament.
Haiti: The Basics
The Caribbean country has a border with the Dominican Republic, and its estimated population is 11.5 million.
It has a land area of 27,800 square kilometers, which is slightly smaller than Belgium and almost the same size as the US state of Maryland.
In recent decades, chronic instability, dictatorships, and natural calamities have made Haiti the poorest country in the Americas.
In 2010, an earthquake killed over 200,000 people and severely damaged infrastructure and the economy.
A UN peacekeeping force was placed in place in 2004 to assist stabilise the country, and they only left in 2017.
In July 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was killed by unidentified gunmen in Port-au-Prince. Despite political impasse, the country is nevertheless plagued by turmoil and gang violence.
