During a press conference held on Thursday June 20, 2024, Prime Minister Garry Conille unveiled a series of measures aimed at eradicating corruption within the public administration. These announcements follow meetings with the directors general of several key institutions, including UCREF, ULCC, CNMP, DCPJ, BAF, CSCCA, as well as with the ministers of Economy and Justice.
Garry Conille intends to tackle a major problem head-on: corruption, a real scourge requiring a discerning approach.
“We wanted to launch this initiative from the start of our mandate. The Haitian crisis, marked by insecurity, social, humanitarian and economic problems, is intrinsically linked to a failing state. It is therefore impossible to resolve these problems without simultaneously tackling the corruption rooted in state structures,” said Garry Conille.
For the Prime Minister, this fight against corruption is essential to restore trust between the population and the government. “Citizens must feel that the State is working for their well-being, that it is working to improve their living conditions, and above all that it tolerates neither corruption nor the impunity of those who squander public resources,” he pointed out.
During the press conference, Garry Conille presented a worrying figure: up to 30% of state employees receive their salary without being present at their post. “We must take immediate action to remedy this situation. We will prohibit any fundraising not authorized by law within the administration. We will clean up payrolls and ensure transparency in the distribution of debit cards,” promised the Prime Minister.
In the medium term, Garry Conille wishes to develop a national strategy to fight corruption. He wishes to invite civil society to play an active role, to give its opinion and to contribute to this fight. It intends to develop a national roadmap for each control institution. “A national risk matrix and targeted actions will be put in place to mitigate impacts based on the level of vulnerability,” he announced.
Haiti is often poorly ranked in the corruption perception index. Several corruption scandals have marked previous administrations, particularly the affair of the Petrocaribe funds squandered on a large scale by the PHTK regime.
However, the anti-corruption unit (ULCC) has for some time seemed to want to tackle the scourge by carrying out investigations.
Remember that Haiti is now a member of the globE network.
By: Daniel Zéphyr
