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Haiti's president Jovenel Moise on Monday named a new prime minister to tackle the country's worsening socio-political and security crisis.
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The decree naming Joseph Jouthe to the position was published in the official government gazette, after Moise made the announcement on Twitter — albeit with a different spelling of Jouthe's name.
"Following consultations with different sectors, I have decided on Joute Joseph as new prime minister," Moise said on his official Twitter account.
"He is tasked with forming, as soon as possible, a government of transparency and consensus, capable of rising to the challenges of the moment," he said.
Jouthe has been environment minister since September 2018 and was also appointed interim finance minister in September 2019. He replaced Jean-Michel Lapin, who had been acting prime minister.
Haiti has been in deep crisis since the resignation in March 2019 of prime minister Jean-Henry Ceant. Jouthe is the third person Moise has appointed to the post since then.
Lawmakers have never approved any of his nominees, hampering the government's ability to function: elections could not be held last autumn and parliament has not been in session since January.
That means Jouthe's appointment cannot be ratified, according to constitutional rules.
Political talks that began last summer to find a way to form a new government came to nothing and the opposition is demanding that Moise step down before any further discussion can even begin.
Popular anger has been focused on Moise since the High Court of Accounts announced in May 2019 that he was suspected of involvement in a huge corruption scandal that stretches back a decade.
The ever-deepening crisis has slammed the brakes on domestic aRead More – Source
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