Haiti's prime minister resigns amid fuel price hike fallout

Port-au-Prince:  Haitian Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant has resigned amid calls for him to step down over his handling of a failed plan to raise fuel prices that set off a wave of deadly protests.

Haiti\'s Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant had been due to face a censure motion in the parliament.

Photo: AP

Lafontant told Haiti's Chamber of Deputies that he sent President Jovenel Moise his resignation letter. Moise confirmed via Twitter that he had accepted Lafontant's resignation along with those of other Cabinet members.

The prime minister's abrupt resignation came ahead of a vote on a motion of censure Lafontant, a first step toward asking that Moise name a new prime minister to form a Cabinet to handle the crisis. The prime minister is the second highest official in Haiti after the president.

Lafontant was to answer questions about the July 6-8 riots that followed the government's attempt to raise fuel prices by up to 51 per cent as part of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. At least seven people were killed and dozens of businesses were looted during the unrest.

Instead, Lafontant  used the opportunity to announce his resignation, while in various parts of Haiti's small protests were held demanding the head of state step down.

As the session began, chamber president Gary Bodaeu wrote on his Twitter account that the legislature "is at a crossroads in history; it must assume its responsibilities." He had earlier called the price hikes "untimely" and "inoperative".

Burned cars sit parked outside a burned and looted Delimart supermarket complex after two days of protests against a planned hike in fuel prices in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Photo: AP


Lafontant, a 57-year-old doctor who took office in March 2017, had said the price hikes of 38 per cent to 51 per cent for gasoline, diesel and kerosene were needed for Haiti to balance its budget.

Government officials agreed to reduce subsidies for fuel in February as part of an assistance package with the IMF. The agreement also included increased spending on social services and infrastructure and improved tax collection in an effort to modernise the economy of one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere.

Lafontant's replacement will be nominated by Moise and confirmed by the Senate.


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