PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) —President Michel Martelly, who sold himself as a no-nonsense decisive leader, has been unable to deliver on most of his promises, as he celebrates his first 100 days in office, observers say.

“We need a government in a hurry,” said former US President Bill Clinton, who co-chairs the panel charged with rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged, French-speaking Caribbean country.

“The negative things that might have otherwise happened, have been so far severely limited because of the aggressive public posture that the president and his team have taken about getting more investments here and doing things that look like little things, like these cleaning crews in the streets,” he added.

During a recent two-day visit to Haiti, Clinton announced that the recovery panel was providing US$30 million to help Haiti revitalise 16 quake-ravaged neighbourhoods, emptying six camps where 5,239 families live.

The project, which will help five per cent of the people living in tents, will take 30 months to complete, Clinton said.

“We have a vision, and we are starting,” said Patrick Rouzier, who is in charge of Martelly-led housing initiative.

Rouzier said he was unaware of the president’s promise of free houses, but calls the current initiative a “huge accomplishment,” especially since it’s happening without a functioning government.

Martelly, 50, a former musician, has failed to get his two choices of prime minister approved in parliament, amid increasing tensions with lawmakers.

He has spent his first months inaugurating a housing loan programme and schools. He has launched a fund to support his free education initiative, and last week announced a housing plan to relocate more than 5,000 families from six camps.

The new president has also appointed advisers to the panel charged with Haiti’s post-quake recovery, and has called for its renewal by parliament. In addition, Martelly has promoted reconstruction, tourism, governance and technology.

But foreign diplomats say Haiti needs a government to turn the rhetoric into reality.

Observers also say infighting in Martelly’s camp, coupled with his seeming antagonistic attitude toward parliament and penchant for foreign travel is creating uncertainty and concern.

Also worrisome to lawmakers and foreign diplomats is what they describe as the lack of transparency and policy over an education initiative that taxes phone calls and money from abroad.

But while Martelly’s team of mostly childhood friends and advisors has billed the first three months of his term as an opportunity to bring tangible changes to the lives of Haiti’s 10 million citizens, observers say Haiti remains in limbo, months after Martelly’s historic May 14 swearing in.  

Constitutional changes are on hold; millions in international aid remain blocked by frustrated donors; investments and consumption are down, and inflation, which was at 6 percent when Martelly took power, is now at 9.3 per cent, observers say.

Even the budget for the October 1 fiscal year is delayed. The delay constitutionally could force Martelly to use the previous government’s budget.

“The president says Haiti is open for business, but nobody will come to Haiti if you don’t have a prime minister and functioning government,” said Kesner Pharel, a Haitian economist and political observer, who blames Martelly and parliament for the stalemate.

“The inability of these people to get a prime minister is having a high cost in the economy,” he added.

Legislators loyal to former president René Préval have twice rejected Martelly’s pick for prime minister, triggering renewed polarization and speculation that both sides are using the confirmation process to their own political benefit.

“One has to wonder, in view of Haiti’s current impasse, just how much patience will Haiti’s downtrodden masses have before [a social] explosion will occur,” said Robert Maguire, a Haiti expert and professor at the George Washington University Elliot School of International Affairs in Washington, DC.

“Haiti’s political elites seem to be fiddling while Haiti burns,” he added.

Last week, the private sector, Martelly and a majority of lawmakers each circulated their versions of a governance pact.

At the same time, Martelly and his cousin, caretaker Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, floated the idea of temporarily reinstating Bellerive’s governing powers to get the country moving.

But the United States and the United Nations oppose any interim government solution, insisting that Haiti needs a permanent government.

“The only person who can get the ball going is the president because he is the only one who can choose, but he cannot choose by himself,” said Senator Steven Benoit, who claimed that he has unsuccessfully tried to advise Martelly, a friend.

“If he doesn’t deal, we can be all the way in December without a prime minister,” he warned.