A major rift has erupted within Haiti’s executive branch. Fritz Alphonse Jean, coordinator of the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT), has publicly accused Foreign Affairs Minister Harvel Jean-Baptiste of making widespread and incompetent diplomatic appointments, tarnishing the country’s reputation.
In an interview with Le Nouvelliste, Mr. Jean revealed he categorically rejected “hundreds of appointments” to embassies, describing the situation as “shameful.” He cited instances of “around fifty people appointed to embassies that can only accommodate 10 or 15,” forcing staff to work “in shifts.”
“I told the minister no… but he did it anyway,” Jean fumed, claiming he verified the excessive appointments on available lists. This crisis partly explains the institutional paralysis: only two Council of Ministers meetings have taken place since March 7.
Fritz Alphonse Jean justified the deadlock, stating, “The Council of Ministers is not about appointing incompetent directors general” but should address “structural issues.” He suggested that other CPT members and Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé may be complicit in these waves of appointments.
The fracture at the top of the state threatens governance just weeks before Mr. Jean’s mandate ends on August 7.
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