Paul Harry Voltaire, the Director of Cabinet of the Minister of the Interior and Territorial Communities, accompanied among others by Mallew Étienne, Director of Territorial Communities met recently with the mayors of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. Members of the municipal councils of Kenscoff, Tabarre, Delmas, Pétion-ville, Port-au-Prince, Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets were present at this meeting.

As part of this working meeting, the crisis resulting from the work stoppage of the Territorial Financial Controllers was widely discussed, with the aim of quickly finding a solution to this situation. In addition, the inventory of the functioning of town halls as well as the need to overcome the obstacles in order to bring the expected results for the benefit of the population were among the points discussed.

Voltaire, affirmed the determination of the Ministry to establish a sufficient technical and administrative framework to address the challenges to the optimal functioning of local authorities. In this sense, he proposed a specific synergy between the Ministry, the Town Halls, the General Directorate of Taxes (DGI), the Ministry of Economy and Finance as well as the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation (CSC/CA), in order to overcome the problem of shortfall in tax revenues necessary for the operation and development of municipalities. The arrears of salaries and allowances, as well as the discontinuity of subsidies for promising projects at the local level and the exhaustion of the "Fund for the Management of Territorial Communities," will be the subject of great attention from the Ministry, specified Voltaire.

For their part, the Mayors requested, among other things, the support of the Ministry in order to revitalize the various services to be offered to the population. The fire brigade with regard to the town hall of Delmas, but more generally the road services are among the priorities to be taken into account, faced with the need to clean up the environment of these municipalities.

They also pleaded for more speed in the issuance of authorizations and disbursement procedures, in order to meet the municipalities' fees in time with regard to their staff and their suppliers in general.

A point was also made on the question of safety and on the operation of the various landfill sites of the town halls.

HL/ HaitiLibre