Michel Martelly promised a "revolution of growth" in Haiti

Port-au-Prince .- Haitian President Michel Martelly promised to do in the country today a "revolution of growth" in his first speech before Parliament, which opened the first session of the year.

The revitalization of Haiti's economy was a central point of the president's speech to lawmakers presented an overview of the situation in the country, he said, must pass a "Haiti's misery" to a "dynamic and prosperous Haiti."

Martelly said that currently 8 million to 10 million Haitians have no access to electricity and 5 million are illiterate, while only about 200,000 have regular employment from 4.2 million people of working age.

In this situation, he added, two percent of Haitians control 69% of the wealth of the nation, while 80% of the population lives on less than two dollars a day, and 84% of college-educated Haitians living abroad.

"Getting to Haiti from least developed country status, it is possible," said the president.

Martelly spoke of the need to strengthen animal production, vegetable, clothes and encourage light industries.

In parallel, he says, we must work on crosscutting issues such as construction, the availability for small businesses, access to technology and education.

The president called for "massive investment" in the rural area and provide services to farmers and, through a policy of reorganization of the territory, "deploy resources" across the country.

For his part, Prime Minister of Haiti, Garry Conill, lawmakers offered a balance of government action during his three months in office.

Conill said his team initiated a policy through various measures that "allow all hope," but "did not shake the republic still" the devastating earthquake of January 12, 2010.

The chief of staff spoke of "efforts to modernize" Haiti's public institutions to achieve better governance.

Meanwhile, according to Prime Minister, several actions were launched at the social level to promote the return of displaced families to permanent housing, creating works of public buildings for state administration and public schools.

In preparation for this year, Conill announced initiatives to strengthen institutions, particularly at the Justice and Police.

He spoke of steps to complete the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) and the construction of several police stations.

He also pledged to build infrastructure for tourism with the aim of creating jobs and increasing the generation of electricity.

At the environmental level, a reforestation program will also be released in the central part of the country and in the northeast, while work will be developed to protect rivers.

At the meeting, the president of the National Assembly, Senator Rudolph Joazile, advocated "social dialogue" and the establishment of an "institutional framework" to believe a climate that allows the greatest challenges facing Haiti.