Haiti's prime minister, Jean Henry Ceant, reiterated an appeal for dialogue with the country's opposition and promised an investigation into the alleged misspending of nearly $2 billion from the Venezuela PetroCaribe discount oil program that was supposed to be invested in programs for the poor.
The alleged corruption surrounding the fund and the government's mismanagement of the economy have been at the heart of violent demonstrations in Haiti since Feb. 7.
The violence has led many foreign diplomats, Haitians with means and international visitors to flee the country over the past 10 days. The Canadian government and U.S. State Department have raised their travel warnings for Haiti, warning citizens to avoid travel to the country.
Ceant, like Haiti President Jovenel Moise who finally broke his silence Thursday, had been quiet during most of the protests.
A lawyer and notary, Ceant was named by Moise five months ago to lead the government. The president noted his dissatisfaction with his prime minister during his own address to the country, saying that since Ceant became prime minister, the situation has worsened.
'Humanitarian crisis'
Ceant did not address the president's concerns and instead focused on the impact of the last 10 days, and the need for Haitians to come together to discuss the country's problems.
"It's been 10 days since children have been unable to go to school, hospitals can't provide health care, big businesses and small businesses can't function," he said. "It's been 10 days since the government has lost a lot of money. At the same time, the population has suffered a lot. Because of the roadblocks, it cannot find potable water, it can't eat, it can't find gas, it can't get electricity. All of this can take us to deep humanitarian crisis."
In his speech Saturday, Ceant condemned the acts of violence including the burning of an American flag during one of the protests and the trashing of the embassies of Peru and Italy.
"While we are asking for tourists to enter the country, we can't continue to send negative signals so someone doesn't want to return to visit us," he said.
Ceant said Haiti's problems didn't start overnight and are rooted in three areas: corruption, inequality and decades of bad governance. He said he and his ministers have been working to address the problems. But the only way out of the crisis, he said, is dialogue.
He listed recent measures that including a 30 percent cut in the prime minister's budget and curtailing travel, fuel and other perks for ministers.
He also announced plans to hold several discussions with the international community, factory owners and investors involved in national production in hopes of reversing the dire economic situation. But it remains to be seen if these measures will be enough to cool tensions and get protesters off the streets. Haiti is facing a 15 percent inflation rate, a huge budget deficit and free-falling domestic currency.
