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Haiti's Prime Minister Resigns Following Months of Unrest

Sandra Lemaire

   WASHINGTON / PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI - Haiti'sPresident has accepted the
   resignation of his Prime Minister, JosephJouthe, who announced on
   TwitterearlyWednesday he wouldbesteppingdown, without saying why.
   "I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM
   @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime
   minister. I thank the members of my government, our technical and
   financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!" he
   tweeted.

     J'ai remis ce soir ma démission au Président de la République,
     SEM [1]@moisejovenel. Ãa a été un honneur de servir mon pays comme
     Premier ministre. Je remercie les membres de mon Gouvernement, les
     partenaires techniques et financiers pour leur collaboration.
     Que Dieu bénisse Haïti!
     -- Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) [2]April 14, 2021

   PresidentJovenel Moiseresponded an hour lateronTwitter that the
   resignation will help find a solution tothe acute insecurity problem
   that has saddled the government for months.Kidnappings have surged in
   Haitias gangs broaden their targets for ransom. Just this month,a group
   of church officials were kidnapped during aliveEaster Sundaybroadcast.
   "The resignation of the government, which I have accepted will allow me
   to addresstheinsecuritythat is calling out to be handledand pursue
   discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for
   political and institutional stability in our country," Moise tweeted.

     La démission du Gouvernement, que j'ai acceptée, permettra
     d'adresser le problème criant de l'insécurité et poursuivre les
     discussions en vue de dégager le consensus nécessaire à la
     stabilité politique et institutionnelle de notre pays. Le ministre
     Claude Joseph est nommé PM a.i
     -- Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) [3]April 14, 2021

   Foreign Minister Claude Joseph will replaceJoutheas acting prime
   minister,the president announced. Joseph becomes the 6th prime minister
   to serve the Moise government.
   Jouthe'srole in Moise government
   Before being named prime minister in March 2020,Joutheserved asminister
   of the Environment under then-PrimeMinister Jean-Henry Ceant in
   September 2018,and then asminister of the Economy and Finance in
   September 2019.

   Jouthehad tried to resign on March 10 after acouncilmeeting,
   butPresident Moiserefused to accept his
   resignation.[4]LeNouvellistenewspaper reported at the time the decision
   was related towhatJoutheperceived to bea lack of "cohesion" within the
   government and that the prime minister was ready to step down at any
   moment, if it helped "enhance government cohesion."
   Jouthehas been at odds with other members of the cabinet who
   haveopenlyopposedand acted againsthis orders on issues pertaining to
   security andjustice.

   Who is Claude Joseph?
   Claude Joseph, Haiti's acting prime minister

   Newly-appointedActingPrimeMinister Claude Josephis Haiti's 164th
   Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs. Before being named
   foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian Ambassador to
   Argentina, andcharged'affairesat the Haitian embassy inSpain. Prior to
   working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of
   Connecticut andatLong Island University.
   Under normal circumstances, theParliament would need to
   approvehisnomination,but the legislative body is not functioningdue toa
   failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers.Those
   elections are now scheduled for September of this year. The
   currentvacuumgives the president latitude to make unilateral,
   uncontested cabinet appointments.
   Uptick in crime
   Cabinet changesWednesday follow a spike in kidnappings during recent
   days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at
   gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for
   ransom of Catholic priests and nuns,and the killing of a prominent
   businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.
   Joutheaddressed the kidnappingsTuesday,describing the killing
   ofbusinessmanPatrickThebaudas "an earthquake" that hit the capital.
   "The police must increase its presence on the streets to dissuade these
   thugs fromcommittingdespicablecrimes. We must take measures to reassure
   our citizens,"Jouthesaid during a press conference in Port-au-Prince.
   He added that the cleanup operation within the national police
   continues.
   "The police is a reflection on society. Just as there are engineers,
   agronomists, journalists who are defrocked[corrupt]--we find at all
   levels of societies people who arecommittingcrimes. That doesn't mean
   the societyas a whole isbad. We have a lot of good people in
   Haiti,too,"Jouthenoted.
   ActingPrimeMinister Joseph has not yet commented on his new
   appointment.
   Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince contributed to this story

References

   1. https://twitter.com/moisejovenel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   2. https://twitter.com/JoutheJoseph/status/1382194846643978242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   3. https://twitter.com/moisejovenel/status/1382210981196095488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
   4. https://lenouvelliste.com/article/227228/joseph-jouthe-presente-sa-lettre-de-demission-sans-y-mettre-de-date

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