Caribbean360: Haiti parliament to choose new leader as food aid promised

Haiti parliament to choose new leader as food aid promised
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Chris Hoyos on 14/04/2008 12:10:43
 
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, April 14, 2008 – A new Hatian Prime Minister will be
nominated by the country's parliament following the firing of Jacques Edouard
Alexis over the weekend.
Mr Alexis was ousted in a no-confidence on Saturday during an extraordinary
sitting of the Senate, for his failure to curb rising food prices which has led
to more than a week of rioting and violence in the country. The move came even
as he unveiled a plan to cut the price of rice.
His party's 10 Senators were absent when the 16 others voted unanimously to
remove him from office.
Mr Alexis, who became prime minister in May 2006, said his dismissal was
"unjust".
President Rene Preval said Alexis' replacement will be decided as soon as
possible by consensus of both Houses of Parliament since no party boasts a
majority.
The riots over the rising cost of food have not been restricted to the Caribbean
Community's (CARICOM) poorest country where the price of rice, corn, beans,
cooking oil and other foodstuffs have increased significantly in the last few
months.
There have also been food riots in countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle
East, as overall global food prices increase by 83 per cent, caused partly by
bad weather in traditionally big food production regions, increasing energy
costs and the 181 per cent hike in world wheat prices over the last three years.
Here, at least five people have been killed and scores more injured as the
violence continues.
Meantime, the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) – an affiliate of the
Organisation of American States (OAS) – has announced that about 400 tons of
fortified rice, worth more than US$1.5 million has been made available for
delivery as emergency food aid to Haiti.
PADF Executive Director John Sanbrailo announced the proposed aid package even
as he appealed to OAS member states and other interested parties to help provide
some US$200,000 to underwrite the cost of shipping the rice.
The food will be distributed largely to schools under school feeding programmes,
health centres for women and children, hospitals and community groups operating
in Cité Soleil, Bel Air and other locations where PADF has programmes.
Aid has also been approved by the World Bank which announced a US$10 million
grant to help ease the impact of the food prices.
"With this new US$ 10 million grant, the World Bank will support government
efforts to rapidly scale up social safety net programs, including school
feeding, while pursuing longer term measures to create jobs," said Country
Director for the Caribbean, Yvonne Tsikata.
A team of Bank experts will visit the country to work with the government and
its international partners to put the emergency assistance in place.
The grant is expected to cover the provision of food for poor children and other
vulnerable groups, partly through an expansion of the Bank's existing school
feeding programme and job creation through labor intensive public works.