…IMF providing US$41.6M to help rebuild country

Jovenel Moise was on Tuesday sworn in as the Haiti’s 58th president taking the oath in the Parliament packed with legislators and foreign dignitaries including those from Haiti’s fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.

The 48-year-old businessman succeeded Michel Martelly, who left office one year ago in an environment of political uncertainty after efforts to stage presidential and legislative elections before his departure were unsuccessful.
Moise won the November 20 presidential election last year and members and allies of his party were swept into office in the legislative elections. Moise took the oath of office declaring “I swear before God and the Nation, to faithfully observe the Constitution and laws of the Republic, to respect and enforce the rights of the Haitian people, to work to the greatness of the Fatherland, to maintain the National Independence and territorial integrity.”

But as he was doing so, members of the Lavalas Party that was once headed by former president Jean Bertrand Aristide took to the streets to denounce what they call the “electoral coup” On Monday, Moïse went to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to receive his certificate confirming his election as the new Head of the State and took the opportunity to express his desire to work for the strengthening of republican institutions, including the CEP.

His critics contend that while he won the presidential election by gaining 55 per cent of the votes cast, he does not have a mandate as barely 20 per cent of the electorate bothered to go to the polls. Three former presidential candidates had unsuccessfully filed legal challenges to his victory. A businessman from northern Haiti, Moise had never run for office until he was hand-picked to be the Tet Kale party candidate by outgoing President Michel Martelly. He is scheduled to address the nation later on Tuesday.

President, David Granger, who is also chairman of CARICOM, travelled to the country for the inauguration. The President was accompanied by Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Carl Greenidge and Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Audrey Waddell. In addition to the main inauguration ceremony, President Granger also attended several other activities organised to mark the occasion, including a dinner hosted by Provisional President, Mr Jocelerme Privert.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is providing US$41.6 million to Haiti under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) in the wake of the damage caused by Hurricane Matthew last October. The Washington-based financial institution said that Port au Prince had made the request to help with urgent balance of payments needs in the aftermath of the Category 4 hurricane that struck the nation on October 4, destroying infrastructure and killing hundreds of people.

The IMF said that with the support of the RCF disbursement, the Banque de la République d’Haïti (BRH) has continued to rebuild its net international reserves. “At the same time, the pace of currency depreciation has slowed, from 25 per cent year-on-year through September 2016, to 17 per cent year-on-year in December -10.5 percent quarter-on-quarter annualized rate”.

The IMF said that despite the favourable impact of the slowdown in depreciation, increases in food prices – due in part to the hurricane – have pushed inflation from 12.5 per cent in September 2016 to 14.3 per cent in December 2016. “As a country with widespread development needs, Haiti continues to face substantial challenges. The successful conclusion of the recent presidential election provides Haiti with an opportunity to rebuild from the storm and to advance its reform agenda,” the IMF said, adding that it was looking forward to continuing to work together with the Haitian authorities in designing policies to support macroeconomic stability needed to boost economic growth. (CMC)