HAITI: Martelly’s pick for prime minister approved, finally

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REPORTING FROM MEXICO CITY -- It took many critical months, but Haiti finally is about to get a new prime minister. The choice is Garry Conille, an urbane expert in development for the United Nations and former aide to Bill Clinton during the ex-president’s time as special envoy to earthquake-devastated Haiti (link in French).

Conille, also a gynecologist, was the third candidate proposed by President Michel Martelly since he took office in May, after the Haitian Senate rejected two previous choices. The time lost has been costly to Haiti’s struggle to recover from the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake that flattened the capital of Port-au-Prince and killed more than a quarter of a million people. Without a functioning government, international donors have been reluctant to continue funneling money to the island nation.

In an interview with Reuters, Conille, 45, said his priority would be ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ as he embarked on what he called his country’s reconstruction battle.

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-- Tracy Wilkinson