–          CARICOM to provide humanitarian aid
–          Bloc’s EPG delegation to be deployed in 10 days to assess state of affairs in Haiti

WITH a Transitional Council in place taking charge of Haiti for some months now, the country is now on track to hold an election by the end of 2025.
This is according to Edgard Leblanc, the head of the council and former Haiti Senate President who made this disclosure at the closing press conference for the 47th Regular Meeting of the Heads of Government of CARICOM held in Grenada.
Over the past few days, discussions among the heads of government and delegations included steps to move Haiti ahead in its quest to return to normalcy.

Leblanc told the closing conference that since the creation of the transitional council, they are working to implement a transitional electoral process or system which will allow for the holding of general elections at the end of 2025.
Further, he stated that they have also launched a conference that will review the constitution to further redefine the relationship between the state and population and set the tone for the new state of operations.
Being particularly marked by gun violence taking place in the country’s capital and other villages, he said through an interpreter, “It is our aim to remove Haiti from this situation.”
As such, following discussions with the regional heads of government, Leblanc disclosed that Haiti will receive within 10 days a mission from the bloc’s Eminent Persons Group which was appointed last year to cater to issues surrounding Haiti will participate in discussions.

“We will soon receive within 10 days in Haiti, a mission from the EPG in CARICOM that will participate in the discussions between the state and the opposition groups to create the new mandate that will consist of various terms of the transitional government,” he said among other things.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Grenada, Dickon Mitchell said that over the last two days, the regional body also heard and discussed the humanitarian situation in Haiti, which is one of grave concern.
“There are hundreds of thousands of persons who are displaced there are hundreds of thousands of persons who do not have adequate access to food and so CARICOM has agreed that we will also seek to provide humanitarian aid to the people of Haiti,” Mitchell affirmed.
Against this backdrop, he indicated that this is something that the bloc will continue to do and ensure that there is support for the people of Haiti.
Further to this, he highlighted the work of the Eminent Persons Group which is made up of former Prime Ministers of St Lucia, The Bahamas and Jamaica which he noted have been supporting the various groups and sectors in Haiti to create their own homegrown solutions to the challenges faced.

Additionally, the Prime Minister extended an invitation to visit Haiti in August to gain firsthand experience and engage with diverse groups and sectors. This visit aims to provide a comprehensive report to CARICOM on the current situation in Haiti and explore ways in which the bloc can offer continued assistance.

Mitchell expressed, “They are small steps but they are important steps and we think it is Caricom’s duty given that Haiti is a member of CARICOM to continue supporting and showing solidarity to the people of Haiti.”
In April, members of a transitional council were named in Haiti and were set to take power as former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in March.