PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC) — Haiti’s newly appointed Presidential Transitional Council (CPT) is finally scheduled to take office at an inauguration ceremony on Thursday, which could mark a turning point in the struggle in the French-speaking Caribbean Community country to end its current political and socio-economic crisis.

Leslie Voltaire, one of the most influential members of the CPT, said the new governing body will do all it can to rally Haitians from all walks of life to the cause of peace, security and an orderly democratisation and development process.

“The council will be installed on Thursday and this will mark an important step towards solving the political impasse,” Voltaire told the Haitian-Caribbean News Network (
HCNN), an affiliate of the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

“Representatives of the Supreme Court, the diplomatic corps, and other important guests are expected to attend the inaugural ceremony,” Voltaire said.

There had been widespread belief that the inauguration was going to be celebrated in the Presidential Palace which was occupied by late former president Jovenel Moise, and which has, over the past several months, come under repeated attacks from criminal gang members.

Moise was assassinated at his private residence overlooking the capital in July 2021.

Council members have opted for the Villa d’Accueil (Welcome Villa), a mansion-like building, in the peaceful area of Musseau, in the capital.

“That’s where former president Boniface Alexandre was sworn in, in 2004 after the coup that ousted then-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide,” Voltaire said.

However, while encouraging steps have been taken on the political front, criminal gangs continue to wreak havoc, as they try to claim their seat around the negotiating table.

Many Haitians would favour talks with the armed groups toward achieving peace, but there’s now a growing resentment of the idea, mainly because gang members continue with their criminal activities.

“If they want the population to show understanding and to provide forgiveness for their wrongdoing, they first need to stop all criminal activities,” said Jacques Dorsaint, a university law professor.

Members of the National Committee for Disarmament, Dismantling and Reinsertion, known by its French acronym CNDDR, have, over the past couple of weeks, voiced their readiness to act, but the absence of proper authorities to facilitate such initiatives has been an obstacle, a source close to the CNDDR told HCNN.

Meanwhile, the United Nations reported Wednesday that many of its agencies continue to support people affected by recent violence, despite the volatile situation in the country.

The World Food Programme (WFP) and its partners distributed 3,000 hot meals to displaced people in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday and in other departments they also provided 216,000 school lunches that included fresh local vegetables, and 5,000 food rations to people in the country’s south.

The UN Population Fund and the World Health Organization continue to support health care services, including in three hospitals in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area providing maternal health care.

“They have delivered essential medical equipment and other supplies. The two agencies have also extended their support beyond maternity services, responding to urgent needs in sexual and reproductive health,” said the UN.