GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Haiti, CMC – Guyana’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Minister, Hugh Todd, Wednesday welcomed the announcement that members of the Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) in Haiti will be sworn into office on Thursday.
“I think it reflects the leadership of His Excellency, the President (Dr. Irfaan Ali). As chair of CARICOM, he put a lot of effort into mobilizing the other leaders within the Community, empowering EPG (Eminent Persons Group), and liaising with the stakeholders within Haiti.
“As you know, we started this process by ensuring that the people of Haiti led it, and it is now for the people of Haiti to determine their path towards harmonization, peace, and security in the country,” Todd said.
The installation ceremony, originally scheduled for the National Palace, will now take place at the Villa d’Accueil (Musseau) at 10:00 a.m. (local time).
Media reports said that criminal gangs attack the Champs de Mars area daily, and the need to keep bandits out of the perimeter was the reason behind the change in venue.
Following the inauguration, the CPT will proceed to the election of the President-coordinator of the Transition Council, with at least four people—Louis Gérald Gilles, Lesly Voltaire, Edgard Leblanc Fils, and Fritz Alphonse Jean—among the names earmarked for the position.
Todd said there has been “excellent progress so far, and it is now to build into all of that the sustainability,” even as he acknowledged “we still have to have to get to an election so that the people of Haiti could elect a government of their choice to bring economic stability to the nation.
“A lot of work was put into this initiative, and we have to applaud the stakeholders within Haiti for pulling this together. You know it is a very complex environment given their history, but I think the people of Haiti want a better future. They demonstrated that by establishing the Presidential Transitional Council,” Todd said.
“So, I think going forward, there is optimism in the air. CARICOM will remain very much involved. President Ali’s tenure comes to an end in June, and he has started a process that the incoming chair could build on.
“As a country, Guyana remains very committed to the advancement of the people of Haiti, and the President has made it clear that the advancement of Guyana is also the prosperity of the people of the Caribbean Community, which includes Haiti.”
He said that the Haitians are getting the needed support and have a “model which they designed and fashioned with the support of the CARICOM Community…and I think we are on the right path going forward.”
Haiti’s Prime Minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, who was sworn in as prime minister with the backing of the international Community shortly after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, has already indicated that he would step down once the CPT is officially installed. A new prime minister was sworn in ahead of the fresh elections.
Henry is stranded in Puerto Rico, having been unable to return home from Kenya, where he witnessed the signing of an agreement allowing the African country to lead a United Nations Security Council-sanctioned Multinational Security Mission (MSS) to restore peace and security in Haiti.
Earlier this month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) welcomed the establishment of the CPT.
and then 