A well-known public notary who twice ran unsuccessfully for president became Haiti's prime minister Sunday after the Lower Chamber of Deputies overwhelmingly approved his political program and Cabinet.
Jean Henry Ceant's ratification came after both chambers of Parliament held separate back-to-back sessions that began Friday afternoon in the Senate and ended shortly after sunrise Sunday with the vote in the Lower Chamber. Eighty-four deputies voted overwhelmingly in favor of ratification. Five were against and four abstained.
Ceant's ratification followed the forced resignation of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant in July after his decision to raise fuel prices by as much as 51 percent sparked widespread civil unrest, riots and caused the cancellation of international flights.
"The population cried on the 6th, 7th of July," Ceant said. "The president heard them. Parliamentarians heard them. Everybody heard them."
Lawmakers in both chambers used the confirmation hearing to advocate for projects in their communities, asking for roads, hospitals and drinking water. But there was also plenty of frustration.
Deputies in the lower chamber accused their president, Gary Bodeau, of violating the constitution after he shut down debate over the eligibility of some of the ministers, a debate that the Senate spent seven hours on before Ceant was allowed to present his political program.
"We deputies are setting aside our role of control," said Deputy Sinal Betrand, whose request to temporarily suspend the hearing to review the incoming ministers' paperwork was ignored by Bodeau. ""After what happened the 6th, 7th and 8th, it's time to stop playing with the population."
Among the questions lawmakers unsuccessfully sought answers to was whether some ministers had the necessary financial clearance, known as a decharge, to be considered for their new posts. The document is necessary to show well-managed public funds in previous government roles as either ministers or directors general.
Shortly after President Jovenel Moise published the executive order naming the new Cabinet, video circulated showing cars lined up outside of the government's tax office in Port-au-Prince late at night. Local media reported that some newly named ministers were inside paying their taxes to protect their nominations.
Supporters of the new government defended the ministers' alleged actions, with Ceant saying during his hearing that a culture of paying taxes does not exist in the country and that parliamentarians themselves could not throw stones. Critics, however, questioned the signal that he and his Cabinet were sending in a country struggling with a budget deficit and unable to meet the basic needs of its 11 million residents.
"Today all of the poor people in the country are fed up. Why? Because they feel like they have a state with a stick beating them down with taxes," said Antonio Cheramy, one of five senators who voted against the new government.
Sen. Youri Latortue, who was among the 21 senators supporting Ceant, put it more bluntly: "There is no money." But he believes Ceant can make a difference. To do so, Latortue said he will need money and should start by looking for the missing $2 billion from Venezuela's PetroCaribe discounted oil funds.
Bodeau, echoing Latortue's sentiments, called for an international audit to settle the question of what happened to the money.
