More than a week after Haitian President René Préval named his choice for prime minister, former IDB official Ericq Pierre awaits confirmation. BY JACQUELINE CHARLES
The year was 1997 and Haitian President René Préval was in a political jam. His prime minister was gone, resentment was growing toward the presence of United Nations troops in the country and a dispute over discredited elections had Haiti facing yet another political crisis.
Then, like now, Préval turned to Ericq Pierre, an agricultural engineer with extensive ties to the influential Inter-American Development Bank. But instead of ratifying Pierre, Haiti's Chamber of Deputies rejected the nomination.
Now, with political paralysis looming and the threat of more public unrest over rising food prices, Préval supporters are in a last-minute dash to get his choice approved. Senators were expected to take up Pierre's nomination Wednesday.
At stake is not just the future of Préval's presidency, but the stability of the impoverished Caribbean nation and tens of millions of dollars in donor aid promised to Haiti after it plunged into chaos last month with deadly rioting over rising food prices.
''This is a country that can't afford to sit in limbo,'' said Robert Maguire, the director of the Haiti program at Trinity College in Washington. "Hunger is a real issue in Haiti. Addressing just the humanitarian immediate need is one thing. Addressing the roots of the problem is another. This kind of political limbo does nothing toward that.''
More than a week has past since Préval named Pierre, 63, as his choice to replace former Prime Minister Jacques-Edouard Alexis, who was responsible for the day-to-day management of the country.
Haitian senators fired Alexis on April 12, blaming his government for the week of food riots that left at least six people dead, including a U.N. peacekeeper.
And while some Haiti analysts were confident of a quick ratification of Préval's choice, some seem less so as they note the slow pace of the process, especially by the lower chamber.
As of Tuesday, its members still had not formed a commission to review Pierre's qualifications for the job.
''We want to see him ratified,'' said Victor Benoit, the leader of the political party Fusion, which is a member of the governing coalition, regarding Pierre.
Sen. Michel Clérié said that while it is possible senators could approve the nomination by Thursday, he couldn't promise the country would have a new prime minister by the end of the week.
''I have a lot of hope with this new government, it's a chance for Haiti,'' said Clérié, who is supporting Pierre and was among the 16 senators who sent Alexis packing.
But senators don't just have to worry about choosing a new prime minister.
They also must pass an electoral law, setting the stage for elections for the seats of the one-third of senators whose terms expire on Thursday.
That day the number of sitting senators will automatically drop from 27 to 18. Haitian law mandates 16 for a quorum, so some analysts say it could be even more difficult to select a new government.
Confounding matters more is disagreement between the executive and legislative branches over the makeup of the new government.
Préval, who has been lobbying lawmakers and leaders on behalf of his nominee, has said that he would like some ministers to stay.
Some parliamentarians want a complete overhaul of the Cabinet.
The disagreement has made it difficult for Pierre, who is more technocrat than politician, to sit down with politicians who want to negotiate a role in his government. Pierre, who recently met with 16 senators, is expected to meet with political party leaders Wednesday.
Pierre's supporters say while he may not come from a political base, he knows the players in Haiti and can rise to the challenges of the country.
''The value of a guy like Ericq Pierre is he knows the reality on the ground in Haiti, and he knows how donors think,'' said Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the IDB. "That's going to be extremely important in marshaling the resources going forward.''
Pierre's background makes him well-suited for the position, Moreno and others say.
Born in Jérémie, a near-isolated city at the tip of Haiti's southern peninsula, he has had many roles. They include consulting with JWK International Corp., which in 1976 conducted a major study of Haiti's agricultural products: coffee, mango, cotton, meat and sisal He also served with Haiti's Ministry of Agriculture, which he joined after from the post of assistant to the economics advisor at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince.
But it would be his near 30-year relationship with the Inter-American Development Bank, where he began his career in 1980 as a specialist in its Port-au-Prince office, that would gain him recognition in Haitian and Latin American circles for his work on economic issues. One year after joining the IDB, he was tapped to assist the Caribbean Community in its negotiations with the Reagan administration for the Caribbean Basin Initiative, a free trade agreement.
''He's been very much an actor and analyst of the global economic trends and how they affect Haiti,'' said Daniel Erikson, a Caribbean expert with the Inter-American Dialogue. "He's obviously extremely well equipped intellectually and with the technical skills Préval needs right now.''