Haiti’s Prime Minister resigns after only a year on the job

15th April 2021

By Buzz Caribbean

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Prime Minister of Haiti, Joseph Jouthe has resigned. Jouthe turned in his resignation to President Jovenel Moïse saying that his departure “will make it possible to address the glaring problem of insecurity” in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

Moïse said he has since appointed former minister Claude Joseph as Prime Minister.

Jouthe took to social media early Wednesday morning to announce that he had submitted his resignation to Moïse

His resignation comes after only a year in the job.

He was appointed prime minister in March 2020 by presidential decree and without a political agreement with the country’s vocal opposition.

His appointment came two months after Moïse began ruling by executive order after the terms of most Members of Parliament expired.

Moïse had unsuccessfully spent a year trying to get two different prime ministers through Parliament after the Lower Chamber of Deputies fired Prime Minister Jean Henry Céant on March 18, 2020.

Haiti is facing a constitutional crisis with many Haitians saying they no longer recognise Moïse because they believe his term expired on February 7 under the current constitution.

The resignation of Jouthe comes less than 24 hours after Religions For Peace announced its withdrawal from the peace and dialogue process.

However, it said it remains ready to encourage any other initiative of dialogue that tends towards a peaceful solution to the security crisis in the country.

On Monday, Jouthe had called for “all components of Haitian society, branches of civil society, chambers of commerce, all religious denominations, political parties…to provide their help and support in the fight against insecurity”.

Level 4 alert

Jouthe had also announced that instructions have been given to the national police to deal urgently with the kidnapping of the five priests and two nuns over the last weekend.

The US State Department earlier this week issued a level 4 alert for Haiti “Do not travel”, due to kidnappings, crimes, civil unrest and the coronavirus (COVID-19).

It said that violent crimes such as armed robbery and carjacking are common.

“Travellers are sometimes followed and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince International Airport. Robbers and carjackers also attack private vehicles stuck in heavy traffic congestion and often target lone drivers, particularly women. As a result, the US Embassy requires its personnel to use official transportation to and from the airport.”

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